On the same day Queensland’s next top cop was unveiled, a crime report suggests a tough challenge may lie ahead for the new police commissioner.
Steve Gollschewski on April 22 said tackling domestic violence (DV) would be a priority after being endorsed as the man to take over from Katarina Carroll.
The 44-year force veteran said DV reforms were “absolutely critical” after a 2022 inquiry’s damning findings into Queensland police responses to domestic violence.
But the 2022-23 Queensland crime report released on April 22 has detailed the enormous task facing the new commissioner.
It reported a 27.2 percent increase in DV order breaches compared to 2021-22 - and a staggering 255.2 percent rise since 2013-2014.
Assaults were also up almost 165 per cent and theft 26 percent since 2013-14.
“That (DV reform) is something that is absolutely critical and ... will remain as a priority for myself as the commissioner and for our organisation,” Mr. Gollschewski told reporters.
“More needs to be done for the victims of domestic and family violence, to make sure that the perpetrators are held to account and can change what they do.
“We’re dealing with over 140,000 [DV] calls for service every year. It is an enormous challenge for the organisation and we must do more.”
The new commissioner says he wants to reduce red tape for front-line police and ensure DV victims feel safe to come forward, with officers also undergoing training for new coercive control legislation.
Mr. Gollschewski had been filling in as interim commissioner after Ms. Carroll left the force on March 1.
She stepped down months before her contract was due to expire after almost five years at the helm following an outcry over youth crime and reports of officer unrest.
Mr. Gollschewski was endorsed as Queensland’s 21st commissioner after the crime report revealed all offences had risen by 13 percent, homicides by 31 percent and robbery by 16 percent compared to 2021-22.
The number of Queenslanders becoming victims of crime rose almost 17 percent.
But Mr. Gollschewski said his focus would be fairly simple.
“Keep our community safer, and make sure that they feel safe,” he said.
Mr. Gollschewski had been Queensland Police’s most experienced deputy commissioner after more than a decade in the role.
Premier Steven Miles said the government would work with the new commissioner to finalise a community safety plan for Queensland.
The state government handed out their own crime figures on April 22, saying total offences had decreased by one per cent in the last nine months.
The premier on April 22 also unveiled $16 million (US$10.30 million) extra funding for support services to help victims of crime.
But advocacy group Voice for Victims is set to march on state parliament, calling for tougher punishments for juvenile offenders at an April 30 rally.
The crime report said there were 11,191 unique child offenders - a 5.2 percent rise on 2021-22.
A unique offender is an individual counted only once in statistics irrespective of the number of offences committed or amount of times they were dealt with by police.
