The Queensland Police Service is grappling with a surge in officer turnover.

Demands on personnel have seen officers exiting the service at twice the rate of the long-term average.

In a candid assessment, Queensland Police Commissioner Carroll says she has never witnessed such a pressing need for police officers throughout her entire career. 

The surging demand can be attributed to increasing workloads, driven primarily by cases of domestic violence, escalating mental health emergencies, and a surge in youth-related crime.

Commissioner Carroll says that the attrition rate for police officers has increased from its historical average of 2.7 per cent to 5.7 per cent. 

The annual report of the Queensland Police Service for the 2023 financial year indicated a substantial 10.7 per cent turnover in permanent staff.

Domestic violence cases have escalated by 30 per cent in the past year, while mental health-related calls to the police have surged significantly. 

A core group of about 450 repeat offenders are responsible for the majority of youth-related offences in Queensland, the Commissioner says. 

She has highlighted reports of youths wielding machetes while roaming the streets at night, necessitating relentless police efforts once they are released from detention.

Many detention centres are overflowing too, with several police watchhouses in North Queensland operating at more than 170 per cent of their designed capacity.

A survey by ‘Working for Queensland’ has indicated that 50 per cent of police officers are considering leaving their positions within the next two years. 

However, Commissioner Carroll says that approximately 1,400 individuals are in the recruitment pipeline, and 600 police academy trainees are set to graduate by year-end.

In response to the staffing crisis, the entry requirements for new recruits have been eased, with the academy training duration reduced to eight months, compared to four months for officers from other jurisdictions. 

The 2022-23 annual police report reflected a heightened demand from the community for more police services and noted the increasing demands in the private security sector. 

The report identified a $23.4 million increase in contractors and consultancies, mainly attributed to the growing demand for private security services, which has consequently impacted the police force's workload.