Queensland Police liaison accused of inappropriate conduct at NAIDOC week event

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Queensland Police liaison officers have been accused of inviting Indigenous children to play in the back of a police wagon at one of the state's biggest NAIDOC week events.

Transcript

00:00Well, this NAIDOC Week event was held in Inala in Brisbane's southwest on Wednesday.

00:06Now, it was actually held a week early, largely to attract more children during the school

00:11holiday period.

00:12Inala is home to a large population of First Nations people.

00:16Many local residents attend this annual NAIDOC Week event every year and they say that unlike

00:21previous years, this year the Queensland Police Service exhibit didn't have a stall and instead

00:26they had a police vehicle that was parked up and showcased and one of the activities

00:31that police liaison officers were offering was to allow children to get into the back

00:35of the paddy wagon.

00:36Now, the ABC spoke to one of the local residents who made a complaint to police liaison officers

00:41and she says that by the time she actually walked up to the exhibit, she'd already witnessed

00:45several young children get into the back of a paddy wagon and were locked up before slowly

00:50being let out.

00:52Queensland Police have responded in a statement and they say that they did confirm that a

00:56community member did walk up and complain and once those concerns were raised, they

01:00immediately packed up and left the vicinity.

01:03However, this news has created quite a bit of outrage amongst First Nations people in

01:08the community.

01:09We've heard from the head of the network of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated girls

01:15and women who said in a statement yesterday that when they were made aware of this activity,

01:19it was deeply inappropriate.

01:21The ABC has also spoken to the woman that made a complaint, a local Inala professor,

01:26who said that her main concern was she was disappointed in the liaison officers who are

01:31specially appointed officers that aren't actually sworn in but are dedicated in their roles

01:35to effectively engage with community.

01:37She said that it was also quite distressing to see kids cosplaying as criminals.

01:41Now, Queensland Police have also responded in a statement and they say that they have

01:45continued to engage with community stakeholders.

01:48They say that they take feedback quite seriously and they will be using that when planning

01:53for future events.

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