Queensland Police Service (QPS) International Recruitment
 

WAPOL now have some competition for UK recruits https://mypolice.qld.gov.au/news/202...t/#tab-content

Re: Queensland Police Service (QPS) International Recruitment
 

All I'll say is that there are reasons why they can't get recruits from within Queensland. Good luck to any applicants, but do your research.

Re: Queensland Police Service (QPS) International Recruitment
 

Have to agree, as someone whose currently on a career break from the QPS…

Re: Queensland Police Service (QPS) International Recruitment
 

Is the concensus that wapol would be a better move than qps

Re: Queensland Police Service (QPS) International Recruitment
 

100% if I was an international cop I would be looking at WAPOl or SAPOL

Re: Queensland Police Service (QPS) International Recruitment
 

Consensus is they’re all as bad as each other at the moment, if you want an idea as to why, join the ‘Thin Blue Line Australia’ FB page and another called ‘Career Change for Police’ - ask a few questions in either/or.

Re: Queensland Police Service (QPS) International Recruitment
 

Hey Jen, good to see you're still around!! :wave:

My old work unit is possibly to be moved to come under QPS in the latest Qld Govt shake-up. While this wasn't one of the main factors in my decision to retire, I can honestly say I am very pleased I got out before it happens.

Re: Queensland Police Service (QPS) International Recruitment
 

Good to see you too! 🤗

Re: Queensland Police Service (QPS) International Recruitment
 

hi there,

I’m Police Officer in Brazil, and currently applying for a role in QPS International Recruitment. Could you tell me why you think “they” are so bad?

I am just wanting understand, because here, in Brazil, we are not assisted by the government, we have no good equipments to work, even the uniform we need to pay for. In addiction, the salary rate is lower than other jobs.

so, I would know what make them “bad” to help me decide if I should to move to Australia.

thank you and be safe!!

Re: Queensland Police Service (QPS) International Recruitment
 

Probably not really fair to ask Jen direct as she is a current employee, I should take her advice and join the pages mentioned.

Personally I worked closely with some good QPS officers for several years, but have learnt enough from them to aid my decision to resign from my own job before it was moved from another agency into QPS.

There are many things wrong with the internal culture of Queensland Police, which make for an unpleasant working environment, along the lines of racism, sexism, bullying etc. I suggest you spend some time reading the Australian media reports about the various enquiries and investigations that are ongoing and/ir have taken place in the last few years.
Thats before you look at the huge drug problem in Queensland, violent & gun related incidents, and the ever increasing juvenile crime figures

Re: Queensland Police Service (QPS) International Recruitment
 

Sorry, to add further, it's not just the QPS, it's policing the world over. It's not an easy job no matter where in the world you serve. Queensland is a beautiful place, I can't comment on WA. Pop onto the Facebook pages I mentioned above, 'Thin Blue Line Australia', 'Career Change for Police' and if it's specifically a recruiting question you want to ask, 'Queensland Police Recruiting Applicants', this is not an official QPS page but is very active and has 7.8k members, some of whom are serving, others who are in the recruitment process currently. Good luck with whichever service you choose.

Re: Queensland Police Service (QPS) International Recruitment
 

I read some of the comments on this thread with interest.

Without posting too much personal information, I worked in the UK police for five years, then the Caribbean for three, and in the QPS for 15 years, both regionally and in South East Qld. Consequently, what I would say, is I have quite allot to compare my service in the Qld Police to, which is useful, as it provides perspective.

The QPS is not perfect, like any police department, but the descriptions on this thread do not at least reflect my experience.

There have been comments about workplace culture. I find the culture no different to the police in the UK. Of course there are some bad apples, but there are about 12000 people working for the QPS, so this is a statistical inevitability. One commentator suggested looking at media reports, which by all means you can do, but the media here or overseas isn’t exactly renowned for accurately reporting policing issues, as they have an agenda. No doubt if you read the Guardian in the UK, it would not paint a flattering picture of British police workplace culture, but I would take what they have to say with a barrel of salt. I believe someone recently cited the recent commission of Enquiry into DV and workplace culture in the QPS. Whilst it did raise some pertinent points where the QPS needs to do some work, I would suggest allot of people in the QPS do not agree with the reports assertions in relation to workplace culture. There are many out there that take the view the enquiry became quite politicised, and something of a hatchet job. Whilst I’m discussing media coverage, putting the commission of Enquiry to one side, our State newspaper is the Courier Mail, I read it every day, and I would generally suggest it’s by and large quite support of the QPS.

Another poster talked about crime and public perception of the police. This is where my service in different jurisdictions, and consequently perspective is quite useful. I worked in a big city in the UK, and whilst of course there is crime here, it’s absolutely nothing like what I experienced in the Uk, and what crime there is, tends to be far less sophisticated (at least in Qld). In the UK I would never allow myself to be seen walking into my house in any form of uniform which identified me as police (and I didn’t live in a bad area), and I was also very careful about who I told about what I did. You had to be. My experience with the public, was very mixed, but I definitely wouldn’t describe it as a ‘pro policing’ environment. My experience has been very different here in Qld, both in regional Qld, and south eastern Qld. Of course, there is that small percentage of criminals who is never going to like us, but that’s expected. I would suggest, the vast, vast majority of Queenslanders are very supportive. For example, I worked the football here recently, I had three different people come up to me and thank me for my service. The vast majority of the public I interact with like to have a chat, and I get asked for photos with people and their kids whilst in uniform. This was not my experience in the UK. Again, it’s not perfect, but the proposition it’s not police friendly here is simply untrue.

We did have an incident last year where three police officers were shot, this was tragic, but a statistical outlier. The public response to this tragedy was something to behold, Brisbane buildings were lit up in blue in support of the QPS one night, the funerals are held in Brisbane, that part of Brisbane was pretty much shut down for the procession, police stations and officers received overwhelming support, flowers and do on from the public. Personally, I found it quite touching, and it reminded me how the vast majority of the public have our back.

I would suggest we are well equipped, we have personal issue firearms, cuffs, baton, OC spray, load bearing vests, and we take Tasers from a pool, and long arm weapons if qualified. The irony is in the UK I had a useless PR24 baton, some cuffs and spray. I felt like I had a far greater need for the tools provided to me by the QPS in the UK, than Qld.

Your experience in the QPS, like the UK, will to some degree depend on where you are working. If you’re working in a small country town, it’s going to be a different experience to working in Brisbane, which is different to working on the Gold Coast. Like the UK, camaraderie is by and large present in the vast majority of stations, but you might have a slightly different experience from one station to another, and of course your role in the QPS will dictate your experience to some degree. Obviously if your a dog handler, your day to day work experience is going to be different to someone who is on shift, and to someone who is office based, in traffic, or whatever, it’s the same the world over. However, given it’s such a large organisation, like any large police department, if you don’t like your current role or station, you can move.

In terms of benefits with our recent EB agreement we are one of the best remunerated forces in the country. I’m currently not working shifts, I get six weeks leave a year, so with public holidays that seven. I also have long service leave, access to flexible workplace arrangements, and capacity to work from home. If you do shift work you get 21% extra pay, and additional allowance for nightshirts (not insignificant), I believe it’s seven weeks leave a year, now you also get your public holidays credited back to you if you work them, and long service leave. Shift workers have more limited access to flexible workplace arrangements, but part time working arrangements are prevalent. I would say there has been a trend to moving back towards eight hour shifts of late, which is not good for work life balance. The salaries are actually quite good with the shift allowance, the issue is when you come off shifts and lose the shift allowance it can be hard, as everyone invariably makes financial commitments which take into account their shift allowance, so coming off it can be difficult. Have a look at the pay scales online, as a retread you are on a Senior Constable wage, with shift allowance a top level Senior Constable makes more than what I make as a top level Sgt, with no shift allowance, and I make about $100K a year. We also have good police health insurance.

To sum up, is the QPS perfect? Of course not, but I also don’t think it warrants some of the criticisms on this page. Also, remember, in the police the world over, we love to bitch and moan, it’s like a national sport in the police. When you compare our working conditions to the private sector, we do pretty well, I know in my specialist area, if I worked in the private sector, i would be working far more hours, for far less remuneration. The QPS is experiencing recruitment challenges at the moment, but so is everyone post COVID. This is the first time the QPS has ever opened up recruitment to overseas officers without Australian Permanent Residency visas, because prior to this unique situation we have been presented as a result of COVID, the QPS has never needed to specifically look overseas. What I would say, is this window of opportunity will not last for ever, things will return to normal from a recruitment perspective, upon which the QPS will not be able to justify to immigration the need for overseas officers. So if you are interested, I would suggest doing it sooner rather than later.

Finally, as someone who has ‘been there and got the t-shirt,’ if you’re looking at coming here, it needs to be for the right reasons. Policing is policing the world over, whilst working conditions, the law, levels of public support, and processes may be different, the nature of the work is similar. If you have got to that point where you are sick of policing overseas, that’s not going to change because you’ve moved to a different jurisdiction. Your primary reason for moving to Australia should be for lifestyle purposes, and your lifestyle will depend on where you live, and what suits you. I live in a fantastic sub tropical climate, I live in a city, so I have access to everything I need, my house is about 15 mins from amazing beaches, I go surfing with my mates on the weekend, diving, I can take my kids into the mountains, National parks, or beaches camping, there is mountain biking, it’s safe, there are good schools, parks, and plenty to do. I’ve lived all over the world, without a doubt, for me, this is by a long way, as good as it gets. But what suits me might not suit you. It may be the lifestyle in the UK is a ‘better fit’ for you. Everyone is different.

I hope my contribution to this thread will be useful to anyone considering making the move, and bring some ‘balance’ to the thread.

Re: Queensland Police Service (QPS) International Recruitment
 

G’day mate

I really appreciate your comment. I think it is the great advice that I have had ever since I started thought about joining the QPS.

Reading your post I realised that I wish get a role in QPS for the right reasons. Surely, policing always will be different in different states or countries, but its essence will be the same.

I hope hear from you soon, and, who knows, go surfing together in the future.

Thank you for your time responding this question.

Re: Queensland Police Service (QPS) International Recruitment
 

No problem, if you have any questions just shout. I think when talking about policing experiences across different countries and jurisdictions, I would probably best describe it as ‘same same but different,’ if that makes sense. That statement reflects the aspects of policing which are the same the world over, arresting someone, putting cuffs on them, the various offences are similar, but it also recognises some of the unique features, like culture, remuneration and so on.

Re: Queensland Police Service (QPS) International Recruitment
 

Hi Baz,

Many thanks for your insight into QPS. I am currently applying for the international recruit process (current UK cop). I'm at the stage where they have asked for contact details so they can get my service/disciplinary history. I haven't had an interview yet and still need to do my medical/fitness. Can you say anything about what the move is like (how to get housing - any good websites or contacts to look into) does the force help with this at all? Also what area is best to work in or choose (if there is a choice!)? Finally, my partner would be coming with me - however he is not British born (he is an EU citizen and has settled status in the UK having lived here for the last 11 years. He is also self-employed. Would Australia accept him do you think?

Would be great to get your insight on this.

Thanks