(Adopted October 2014; updated April 2021; updated May 2021)

Principles

The Queensland Greens believe that:

1. All individuals have a right to a safe, peaceful existence, free from crime and fear of violence.

2. A just and effective law enforcement system protects the community, reduces the social impacts of crime, addresses the causes of crime, protects the human rights of victims, suspects and perpetrators and offers a range of interventions in addition to loss of liberty

3. Law enforcement practices should maximise effective apprehension of suspects whilst minimising violations of citizens’ rights.

4. Queensland should have strong effective gun control.

5. The police should be restructured to focus on core responsibilities for which they are suited. 

6. Drugs which are currently illegal should be managed using a harm minimisation approach, via legalisation or decriminalisation of drugs, and treatment in the health system.

7. Departments and agencies with expertise in domestic violence, financial crimes and traffic law should have responsibility for leading investigations and directing police in enforcement measures.

Aims

The Queensland Greens will:

Law Enforcement

1. Ensure law enforcement agencies will be trained to respect diversity by taking cultural and social sensitivities into consideration when dealing with the general public.

2. Adopt law enforcement and other social measures to address the over-representation of Indigenous Queenslanders in the criminal justice system as outlined in the Indigenous Queenslanders Policy.

3. Ensure that the system for the investigation and resolution of complaints is independent, transparent, accessible, effective, adequately resourced and timely.

4. Support the establishment of an independent body and the mechanisms for the prevention and investigation of corruption within the Queensland Police Service (QPS).

5. Support additional resourcing for the QPS to respond effectively to domestic and family violence, including increasing the availability and number of Domestic Violence Liaison Officers to ensure adequate supervision of general duties officers.

6. Ensure training and continued support for law enforcement officers in the successful resolution of situations without the use of firearms or Tasers wherever possible.

7. Remove Tasers from the QPS until additional safeguards are in place to ensure that only specially trained squads can use Tasers, and that they only use Tasers as a substitute for firearms in situations of serious threat of violence to a person. Safeguards should include:

    7.1. Tasers are not used to enforce compliance in non-serious situations.

    7.2. The audio and video attachments on Tasers are operational at all times and activated when a Taser is withdrawn from its holster.

    7.3. Pre-programmed limitations on the number of firings per incident; and an investigation of every Taser incident with the findings made public.

    7.4. The removal of all QPS Tasers which are capable of operating in drive stun mode.

8. End the QPS practice of using sniffer dogs in public places to carry out stop and searches.

9. Ensure that appropriate and accessible support services are provided to members of the QPS to assist officers in living with the consequences of their dangerous and stressful work.

10. Stop and reverse any policies which result in the militarisation of law enforcement.

11. Develop a liaison system to allow the general public to deal with law enforcement officers who they feel more comfortable speaking with. (e.g. LGBTI Liaison Officers).

12. Expand the use of psychological and social work services to treat issues currently inappropriately dealt with by the criminal justice system.

13. Establish an independent statutory body to investigate complaints against police and ethical standards.

14. Make counter-terrorism investigations solely the jurisdiction of the federal police.

Gun Control

15. Continue controls over gun use and ownership:

    15.1. Banning the importation, ownership, possession and use of semi-automatic handguns with exemptions for government- owned guns.

    15.2. Implementing a 12-month amnesty and buy-back scheme to allow for the surrender of unlicensed firearms.

    15.3. Implementing a public education campaign in support of the gun buy-back scheme.

    15.4. Law enforcement and security agencies should have limited capacity for firearm possession and use.

16. Review the use of firearms by security guards, so as to reduce the loss and theft of such firearms.