The Queensland police have reportedly used a NAIDOC Family Day in Inala to run a stall where children were allowed to "experience" being locked in the back of a paddy wagon.
It comes as the Queensland Police Service (QPS) have refused to answer questions from National Indigenous Times about their reasons for sacking the First Nations Advisory group, and have insisted they are committed to combating racism.
On Wednesday, Munanjahli and South Sea Islander woman, Professor Chelsea Watego, put the image of the 'stall' on social media, where she noted it was being run by liaison officers.
Professor Watego told National Indigenous Times the stall was brought to her attention by a concerned community member.
"I witnessed kids being locked inside by the Police Liaison Officers (PLO) who were all laughing about it," she said.
Professor Watego said she asked the liaison officer if she thought the activity was acceptable.
"[She] was quite dismissive of the concerns I had raised regarding the insensitivity and indignity of this activity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their families," she said.
"I asked her if she was aware of how her position of PLO came about to which she replied she thought it had something to do with Indigenous people.
"It struck me that I would have to educate her as to the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, and what the function of her role as her PLO should be. After this interaction the PLOs discontinued the 'activity'."
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Professor Watego said the activity was inappropriate for any child, "as an engagement or educational activity by police officers or police liaison officers" and said the act of "cosplaying criminals" did nothing other than normalising state-sanctioned violence.
National Indigenous Times were contacted about the stall separately from Professor Watego by concerned residents, with one labelling it "horrifying".
Highlighting Queensland's decision to twice suspend the Human Rights Act last year - to imprison children in adult watch houses and criminalise children for breaches of bail - and the state's rapidly increasing rate of Indigenous incarceration, Professor Watego said Police Liaison Officers "are being used as the public relations arm for this violence is outrageous given they emerged out of the RCIADIC [1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody]".
The QPS have been accused of racism repeatedly by members of the Indigenous community in Queensland.
Last year, Police Union president Ian Leavers wrote an article in the Courier Mail which pushed several racist tropes, was factually incorrect, and was described by Queensland's Human Rights Commissioner as "reprehensible".
A Senior Police Liaison Officer told National Indigenous Times last year that the comments brought several issues to a head, and that he felt First Nations officers like himself were being "classed as second-best".
"As a First Nations person I found them [Ian Leavers' comments] disgusting," he said at the time.
A 2022 report titled "Call for Change" found: "Racism is a significant problem within the Queensland Police Service. It manifests in discriminatory behaviours directed towards First Nations employees, employees from other cultural backgrounds and members of the community."
"It is less than two years since an independent inquiry found a widespread culture of racism among the QPS, and it is clear that the QPS in sanctioning this activity lack any capacity to change it," Professor Watego said.
In her role as Director of the Institute of Collaborative Race Research, she submitted to the final report: "The state generally positions Indigenous peoples as responsible for their own suffering."
"Even when the state identifies its own part in causing harm, its solution is still the extension of the very powers that precipitated that harm. There is never a questioning of the value of intrusive state ordering of Indigenous lives," Professor Watego said.
This year, the QPS sacked the First Nations Advisory Group [FNAG] after the group had routinely criticised racist aspects of the QPS. The QPS have remained elusive on the reasons for this, other than broad statements about inclusivity which seemingly contravene the terms of reference for the group.
Professor Watego said since the inquiry, the only action QPS had taken to address any racism within its ranks was to disband the FNAG.
"We therefore must question not only the role of the QPS in NAIDOC Week, but the intrusive state ordering of Indigenous lives more broadly," she said.
In a statement, a QPS spokesperson told National Indigenous Times that the organisation acknowledges "NAIDOC Week activities and events celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and provide an opportunity to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on Earth".
The spokesperson said an operational police vehicle was approved for use for community engagement and to "provide a policing experience".
"This is intended to break down barriers, create conversations and build relationships with community," they said.
The QPS said after a conversation between a senior PLO and a community member, out of respect for the concerns, the senior PLO "immediately closed the police vehicle and removed it from the event site".
"Further discussions around this event have since been had with relevant local community stakeholders. The QPS takes community feedback seriously and will ensure it is incorporated in planning for next year's event," the spokesperson said.
This article was amended to include the statement by Queensland Police
