Queensland Police Service | |
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Logo of the Queensland Police Service
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Motto | With Honour We Serve |
Agency overview | |
Formed | 1 January 1864 |
Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
Jurisdictional structure | |
Operations jurisdiction* | State of Queensland, Australia |
General nature | |
Operational structure | |
Headquarters | 200 Roma Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000 27°27′59″S 153°01′06″E / 27.4664°S 153.0182°ECoordinates: 27°27′59″S 153°01′06″E / 27.4664°S 153.0182°E |
Police Officers | 11,971 (June 30, 2016) |
General Employees | 2794 (30 June 2016) |
Police Commissioner responsible | Ian Stewart |
Units |
List
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Website | |
www.police.qld.gov.au/ | |
Footnotes | |
* Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction. |
The Queensland Police Service (QPS) is the law enforcement agency responsible for policing the Australian state of Queensland. In 1990, the Queensland Police Force was officially renamed the Queensland Police Service and the old motto of "Firmness with Courtesy" was changed to "With Honour We Serve". The headquarters of the Queensland Police Service is located at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane.
Commissioner Ian Stewart is the present Commissioner of the Queensland Police Service. The Queensland Police marked 150 years of service to the state of Queensland on 1 January 2014.
Queensland as a state did not exist until 6 June 1859. The area now called Queensland was known as North Eastern New South Wales. The colony would have been under the jurisdiction of the New South Wales Police Force up until Queensland established its own police force.
The Queensland Police were established on 1 January 1864 and started operations with approximately 143 employees, including the first Commissioner of Police D.T. Seymour. The service had four divisions: Metropolitan Police, Rural Police, Water Police, and Native Police. Police often worked a seven-day week, although they were entitled to every second Sunday free.Bicycles were introduced in 1895. At the turn of the century there were 845 men and 135 Aboriginal trackers at 256 stations in Queensland.
In 1904 the Queensland Police started to use fingerprinting in investigations. In the 1912 Brisbane general strike the Queensland Police were used to suppress striking workers. The first female police officers were inducted in 1931 to assist in inquiries involving female suspects and prisoners. Following World War II a number of technological innovations were adopted including radio for communication within Queensland and between state departments. By 1950 the Service was staffed by 2,030 police officers, 10 women police and 30 trackers. In February 1951, a central communication room was established at the Criminal Investigation Branch in Brisbane.
On 14 May 1963, the Juvenile Aid Bureau was established. In 1965 female officers were given the same powers as male officers. The Queensland Police Academy at Oxley, Brisbane, was completed in 1972. Bicycles were phased out in 1975 and more cars and motorcycles were put into service. The Air Wing also became operational in 1975 following the purchase of two single-engine aircraft.