Queensland police inquiry hears allegations of recruits being taught racism, officers being raped

State's police commissioner reveals she too suffered sexual assault and harassment early in her career

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Queensland police recruits were taught racist attitudes at the state's academy, including comments about Indigenous people that you can smell them before you see them", recordings obtained by an inquiry have revealed.

The distressing" evidence given to the inquiry into Queensland police service (QPS) responses to domestic violence included revelations the police service failed to discipline officers in cases where they were found to have racially abused colleagues, or made racist remarks.

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In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123 and the domestic abuse helpline is 0808 2000 247. In the US, the suicide prevention lifeline is 1-800-273-8255 and the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org