Qld top cop to bow out in July
POLICE Commissioner Ian Stewart will retire on July 7 having failed to establish a strong and stable leadership steam on the Glitter Strip during an unprecedented crime wave, critics of the commissioner say.
While Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk yesterday praised Commissioner Stewart’s sixyear reign as the State’s top cop, police on the ground and former detective and Bond University criminologist Terry Goldsworthy were highly critical of his performance.
Dr Goldsworthy said the Coast had endured a lengthy period of police instability at higher management levels after top cops such as Chief Superintendent Steve Hollands and Rapid Action and Patrols boss Superintendent Jim Keogh were moved out of the district.
“If you look at the legacy of Ian Stewart for Queensland police it has been quite a poor one,” Dr Goldsworthy said.
“In crime control, it’s been under performing. In trans- parency and accountability it has been quite poor. There’s been the Ombudsman’s report on where the (crime) figures were fudged. Morale is not high. I don’t think we’ve seen a good outcome for the Gold Coast.”
Commissioner Stewart last year promised stable leadership after the police service faced a series of bombshells on the Coast under his reign, including:
The arrest of top cop Michelle Stenner who was charged with three counts of perjury and one count of misconduct.
■Fifteen police officers facing internal investigation for alleged corruption and misconduct after the Crime and Corruption Commission investigated complains about dodgy crime data and bullying.
Revolving-door police leadership caused by the then Gold Coast Chief Superintendent Terry Borland taking extended leave.
A staffing crisis with as many as 11 of the 24 cops in stations such as Runaway Bay on sick leave, carer’s leave or pending investigation.
A police source said: “He has an inability to address crime at a street level. He was very tight with the Labor party.
“It was unprecedented that three deputies, Brett Pointing, Ross Barnett and Peter Martin, all left during his term. But he was a master at politics and read the political landscape to a tee.”
Assistant Commissioner Brian Wilkins has since argued the city has strong, stable leadership but most cops doubt Gold Coast chief superintendent Marty Michelson will return this year after being given a plum job in Brisbane.
Commissioner Stewart, who has been in the service for 46 years, said more women were being encouraged to join the force and he had worked hard to increase technology available to officers to solve crimes.
The two hot contenders for his job are Deputy Police Commissioner Bob Gee and Queensland Fire and Emergency Service Commissioner Katarina Carroll. Labor is likely to be tempted to appoint Queensland’s first female Police Commissioner.