Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll Fronts DV Inquiry

Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll has faced the Commission of Inquiry into Queensland Police Service Responses to Domestic and Family Violence, after admitting she rejected a first offer to appear.

It comes after current and former officers revealed colleagues took drastic measures to avoid domestic violence cases.

It is reported officers would ignore tasks, turn women away at the counter and would even lie about the severity of a complaint to superiors.

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Counsel assisting the inquiry, Ruth O'Gorman, first began her questioning by asking Carroll for clarity regarding comments she made at the weekend during a press conference.

Carroll said it was "important" to proivde "context" to the claims made - after confirming she had denied giving evidence on August 4 when contacted by the commission.

Assistant Commissioner Cameron Harsley - not in the DFV command - had also given the inquiry the response.

Carroll said Harsley had done a lot of work around resourcing and better understood where money had been spent.

She agreed that while she could have found the information herself, she still would have requested another officer to do so.

“But you could have done that and you could‘ve answered the questions,” DFV inquiry Commissioner Deborah Richards said.

“Yes,” Carroll responded.

“But you chose not to,” Richards said.

“That person is an expert in that area and it was...,” Carroll responded.

“But we didn’t ask the questions of that person, we asked the questions of you,“ Richards said.

Carroll was then questioned about the domestic violence-specific command which see discussed in February 2021 to The Courier Mail.

She agreed she did not seek additional funding to run the command but financial pressure later become "extraordinary".

“It wasn’t the intention to mislead anyone."

- Commissioner Katarina Carroll

O'Gorman then presented Carroll with the numer of employees in the police's media and PR team, 38 permanent positions, while there were 27  appointed to responding to the strategic capability of the police service’s response to domestic and family violence.

The inquiry also revealed the amount of employees in other commands including crime and intelligence, 786; ethical standards, 112; secuirty and counter terrorism, 418; and Crime and Corruption Commission Group, 86.

The Inquiry was called in May by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk following a recommendation by retired justice Margaret McMurdo's Women's Safety and Justice Taskforce.

A report following the inquiry is due for release in October

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