Stress too much to take

Police whistleblower goes on indefinite leave

ONE of three crime managers shafted after blowing the whistle on dodgy crime datagathering practices by Gold Coast police is on indefinite stress leave.

A police source revealed the crime manager – along with another senior police officer employed to help out the embattled Runaway Bay station – had taken leave after claims of bullying and harassment.

Another police source confirmed colleagues were stunned this week to learn the crime manager was not at work and on stress leave with no indication when he would return.

“This has to do with the Crime and Corruption Commission inquiry and the way he was treated after relaying information to the Auditor-General’s office. He was one of the original crime managers moved on from Surfers Paradise,” the source said.

“The CCC inquiries are still ongoing. The treatment of the officers is now part of that whole inquiry (into the dodgy data). This officer is well respected and one of the longstanding crime managers on the Coast.”

The Bulletin in a report in May detailed how the officers were split up and moved from Surfers Paradise headquarters after alerting the Auditor-General that crime data had been manipulated.

Following their shock orders to leave Surfers, one officer was working from a meal room in Broadbeach, another based in a corridor at Southport and a third sent to Runaway Bay.

The Auditor-General in its report found the Coast police district’s “governance over the quality and accuracy of crime data is poor, with inappropriate practices and attitudes towards changes to data”.

The report concluded that because Coast police had targets on reducing crime referred to as “aspirational goals”, they had an incentive to manipulate targets.

Several police sources maintain that pressure continues.

The Runaway Bay Police Beat continues to be the most troubled in terms of staffing after LNP Broadwater candidate David Crisafulli last month exposed the shortfall of officers.

The station normally has 24 police, but as many as 11 have been either on sick leave, carer’s leave, stood down pending an investigation or on secondment to other stations.

Mr Crisafulli yesterday was concerned after being told a senior officer appointed to help fix problems at the local station had sought stress leave.

“You can’t have stations so understaffed and not have officers working under immense pressure,” he said.

“I’ve consistently said under-resourcing of our police service is dangerous not only for the community but the officers themselves.

“Since we started this public campaign we’ve had a few of the vacant positions filled at Runaway Bay station but we’ve got a long way to go.”