Members of the Queensland Police Service (QPS) have come together to promote positive messages about diversity and inclusion, not only in the Service, but the state of Queensland.
The QPS has officers and staff members from many different cultural backgrounds and we are proud to be a Service that recognises that diversity deepens and enriches our community and is an invaluable asset for our future.
The QPS works in collaboration with multicultural and First Nation communities, providing effective, high quality and responsive policing services to make Queensland safer.
We achieve this by supporting an inclusive workplace, embracing our members' cultural, linguistic, religious and spiritual diversity which is reflective of the community we serve.
Members of the QPS are encouraged to express and celebrate their diversity when engaging with communities to promote mutual understanding and to increase a sense of belonging, confidence and resilience.
Commissioner Katarina Carroll, who herself is of Croatian descent, said having a workforce which represents the diversity of the communities we serve had many benefits to the organisation.
"The QPS is extremely lucky to have members from a wide range of backgrounds as it allows all of us to share, learn and respectfully acknowledge all community members, their beliefs and their traditions," Commissioner Carroll said.
"I am proud of all members of the QPS and I am very grateful for our members who improve police relations with our communities across Queensland."
During NAIDOC Week, Commissioner Carroll also launched the First Nations and Multicultural Affairs Unit which is integral to ongoing relationship building with First Nations and culturally diverse communities across Queensland.
Commissioner Carroll said the unit would ensure the QPS continues to support the cultural priorities of all communities across the state.
"The unit enhances the way that the QPS engages and supports First Nations and multicultural people internally and externally, providing our officers with further capability to respond with care and understanding in every instance," Commissioner Carroll said.
"As a Service, we represent those that we serve.
"We will keep listening and learning and getting better, to keep communities safe."
