ABC investigating allegations of toxic culture in the force

There are allegations of a toxic culture within the New South Wales police force which is pushing hundreds of officers out of the job.

Transcript

00:00I have so far spoken to more than a dozen current and former officers and they have

00:06all told very similar stories about the culture in New South Wales police.

00:10They've made allegations of bullying, sexism, nepotism and a dangerous lack of support for

00:15mental health of officers and those with PTSD.

00:18Many are fearful of speaking out, so many have spoken out under the condition of anonymity.

00:22One officer told me he sought help from his superiors for his declining mental health

00:26and was told he had a bad attitude and that he was ordered to continue working on patrols.

00:31He tried to take his own life shortly after.

00:34Another serving police officer who has been on sick leave since last year told us the

00:39culture in the force also left her contemplating suicide.

00:43Another officer who has allowed us to identify her is former senior sergeant Mel Cooper.

00:47She left the force just last month and she told me the toxic boys club culture in the

00:52force has not changed in 30 years.

00:56Calm is, if you speak up, the way you're treated afterwards by people that liked the

01:03person you spoke up about is appalling, you know, and you will be belittled and you will

01:10be badly spoken about.

01:12And Leah, how many officers left the force?

01:15So as of August this year there were 2,280 vacancies in New South Wales police and that's

01:21not including the 1,300 staff who were also on sick leave.

01:25And that vacancy rate has been exacerbated by a recent change in the superannuation scheme

01:30which has seen the removal of a lump sum payment for officers who do go off on medical discharge.

01:36And those who have chosen to speak to me say that the toxic culture is what is behind this

01:40mass exodus.

01:41And what's New South Wales police saying?

01:43They've issued a statement to us a short time ago and they say in response to the detailed

01:47questions we sent they did say that it would be inappropriate to comment on the individual

01:51cases but they said that the force does not tolerate bullying or harassment in the workplace.

01:57They also said there was recently a standalone command announced called the Health and Safety

02:02and Wellbeing Command which is committed to providing officers with more support.

02:06And Leah, if people want to see more on this story, will there be an online piece and a

02:10lengthier piece?

02:11There is going to be an online story published very shortly where they can get a lot more

02:15on this story.