Queensland’s Multicultural Award winners were announced last week and the Queensland Police Service’s (QPS) very own Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Recruit Preparatory (CALDRP) Program was honoured to receive the Government (State and Local) Award, Queensland Police say.
This year the theme for the awards was Creating Welcome, Building Opportunity and Celebrating Diversity. Over 100 nominations were received and seven awards were presented.
The CALDRP Program is a 10-week training course run by the QPS and offered to individuals from non-English speaking backgrounds who would like to become police officers. The program actively targets and engages applicants from multicultural communities to increase cultural diversity, so that officers better reflect the community they serve.
Since 2016, there have been two CALDRP programs. Thirty-seven people have successfully completed programs and been accepted as recruits. They are all undergoing training to become constables.
Each culture has unique strengths and perspectives, which can be used to solve community problems. By recruiting applicants from diverse backgrounds, an open, more trusting relationship is created between the Service and multicultural communities. These relationships help overcome and prevent racial and ethnic division, particularly in communities where policing in home countries may have been perceived negatively.
The CALDRP program has demonstrated the importance of creating a service that is as diverse as the community it serves.
Congratulations to the CALDRP Program team on this incredible achievement, especially Assistant Commissioner Paul Stewart; Acting Superintendent Ian Thompson who was the Inspector of Recruit and Training when the program began; Officer in Charge of Indigenous and Multicultural Education Section Senior Sergeant Shane Clews; CALDRP Facilitators Tarsha Edwards and Sergeant Lisa Duncan; and Police Recruiting’s Satya Achal.
We look forwarding to welcoming our new colleagues, and embracing and learning about their cultures.
Acting Superintendent Ian Thompson and Satya Achal at the Queensland Multicultural Awards Dinner
Tarsha Edwards and Sergeant Lisa Duncan at the Queensland Multicultural Awards Dinner
