Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll has announced the graduations of police recruits who are nearing the completion of their training will be fast-tracked.
This will achieve two objectives.
It will reduce the risk of the transmission of COVID-19 in Queensland’s Police Academies, which house over 750 recruits, in-service course participants and training staff across three campuses.
Secondly, it will immediately support the number of front-line police officers.
Police recruits undergo a training regime that takes approximately six months.
Commissioner Carroll said the decision was sensible and in the best interests of the community.
“These decisions have not been taken lightly by the leadership of the Queensland Police Service, however they achieve two key objectives – they remove a significant number of people out of the Academy thus removing some of the risks.
“And it also provides much needed police officers for the front line at a critical time not only for the Police Service but for the people of Queensland,” the Commissioner said.
There are currently four intakes of recruits at the Oxley campus and one intake at the Townsville campus.
Police recruit intake 4 of 2019 consists of 83 recruits who commenced their training on 30 September 2019.
These recruits will now graduate today, bringing this date forward from the scheduled 2nd of April.
Police Minister Mark Ryan welcomed the Commissioner’s decision.
“These are not ordinary times and we have to prepare for what lies ahead.
“Commissioner Carroll has rightly recognised that it is better to take action early, to support the ranks of our police now.
“The Police Commissioner’s decision will also free up officers who would otherwise be involved in training those recruits, further supporting the number of officers on the front line,” the Minister said.
Commissioner Carroll has assured the community the actions being taken will not in any way diminish the capability of our graduates to perform their newly sworn duties as police officers.
Every graduate will be provided with the highest level of professional supervision in their early months as occurs with every graduate from the Academy.
