‘Poor taste’: Queensland Police invite children to jump in paddy wagon during NAIDOC Week family day

Queensland Police has been slammed as “completely tone-deaf” for hosting a display at a NAIDOC Week family event in Brisbane where children were invited to get in the back of a paddy wagon.

The annual Family Day event held last week in Richlands, in Brisbane’s southwest, featured a Queensland Police display manned by a number of officers offering a “hands-on” look at police gear — including a paddy wagon.

Chelsea Watego, Professor of Indigenous Health at QUT’s School of Public Health and Social Work, shared a photo of the display on Instagram on Thursday, branding it “shameful and disrespectful”.

“So this is what the [Queensland Police] think is an appropriate activity at the NAIDOC Week family fun day in Inala — throwing Black kids in the paddy wagon for fun … and even more tragically, it was the Police Liaison Officers who ran this ‘activity’,” she wrote.

“These positions were introduced as a direct result of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody as a measure for reducing the hyper-incarceration of Blackfullas and now here they facilitating the normalisation of it. This is absolutely shameful and disrespectful to our community, many of which have lost loved ones in custody and who continue to fight for justice for our people.”

Prof Watego added it was “also a reminder of the significance of this year’s theme of ‘keep the fire burning’”.

Sydney-based criminal lawyer and legal commentator Jahan Kalantar said the move was in “incredibly poor taste and something that should never have happened”.

“I don’t have any words,” Kalantar said in a video on TikTok.

“I’m staggered. It is in such exceedingly, exceedingly poor taste, at best it’s completely tone-deaf and absolutely insensitive. At worst it’s proper insulting and designed to degrade.”

A Queensland Police spokesman said in a statement the service “acknowledges that NAIDOC Week activities and events celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and provide an opportunity to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth”.

“As a part of this, QPS officers from the South Brisbane District were invited by organisers to attend a Family Day initiative held at C.J. Greenfield Complex, Richlands,” he said.

“This is an annual NAIDOC celebration event proudly supported by the QPS. The event was supported through the South Brisbane District Cross Cultural Unit through the attendance of nine Police Liaison Officers (PLOs) and members of the Inala Police Station.

“This deployment was supported through the display of an Operational Marked Police Vehicle, which is involved in usual engagement activities at events that include the ‘hands-on’ use of QPS property including police apparel, approved for use for community engagement and to provide a policing experience. This is intended to break down barriers, create conversations and build relationships with community.

“During the event, a Senior Police Liaison Officer was approached by a member of the community who expressed their concerns about the use of the Police Vehicle as part of the community engagement activity.

“Following these conversations with the community member, and out of respect for their concerns, the Senior Police Liaison Officer immediately closed the Police Vehicle and removed it from the event site. Further discussions around this event have since been had with relevant local community stakeholders.

“The QPS takes community feedback seriously and will ensure it is incorporated in planning for next year’s event.”

It comes as Queensland battles an unprecedented youth crime wave, with the state emerging as the nation’s crime capital in 2023.

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data shows 289,657 Queenslanders were victims of crime last year, the highest in the nation, and an increase of 13 per cent on the prior year.

Assaults, sexual assaults, kidnappings, blackmails, robberies, break-ins and thefts were all on the rise with the crimes mainly committed by juveniles offenders.

A recent report published by the state’s auditor general found that 55 per cent of youth crime in Queensland between 2022-23 was committed by “serious repeat offenders”.

The average daily number of these kind of offenders had jumped 64 per cent from 278 in 2018-19 to 457 in 2022-23.

As a result of these figures, Queensland Premier Steven Miles’ government has unveiled a four-year youth justice strategy as part of its $1.2 billion community safety plan and a Victim’s Commissioner — the state’s first.

In May last year, Queensland Police launched Taskforce Guardian, aimed at taking down serious repeat youth offenders.

Since its launch, 1386 young people have been arrested on a total of 4392 offences and 568 have been diverted from the youth justice system, according to figures from Queensland Police last month.

frank.chung@news.com.au

— with Kate Schneider