Queensland Police liaison officers have been accused of inviting Indigenous children to play in the back of a police wagon at one of the state's biggest NAIDOC week events.
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00:00Well, this NAIDOC Week event was held in Inala in Brisbane's southwest on Wednesday.
00:06Now, it was actually held a week early, largely to attract more children during the school
00:11holiday period.
00:12Inala is home to a large population of First Nations people.
00:16Many local residents attend this annual NAIDOC Week event every year and they say that unlike
00:21previous years, this year the Queensland Police Service exhibit didn't have a stall and instead
00:26they had a police vehicle that was parked up and showcased and one of the activities
00:31that police liaison officers were offering was to allow children to get into the back
00:35of the paddy wagon.
00:36Now, the ABC spoke to one of the local residents who made a complaint to police liaison officers
00:41and she says that by the time she actually walked up to the exhibit, she'd already witnessed
00:45several young children get into the back of a paddy wagon and were locked up before slowly
00:50being let out.
00:52Queensland Police have responded in a statement and they say that they did confirm that a
00:56community member did walk up and complain and once those concerns were raised, they
01:00immediately packed up and left the vicinity.
01:03However, this news has created quite a bit of outrage amongst First Nations people in
01:08the community.
01:09We've heard from the head of the network of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated girls
01:15and women who said in a statement yesterday that when they were made aware of this activity,
01:19it was deeply inappropriate.
01:21The ABC has also spoken to the woman that made a complaint, a local Inala professor,
01:26who said that her main concern was she was disappointed in the liaison officers who are
01:31specially appointed officers that aren't actually sworn in but are dedicated in their roles
01:35to effectively engage with community.
01:37She said that it was also quite distressing to see kids cosplaying as criminals.
01:41Now, Queensland Police have also responded in a statement and they say that they have
01:45continued to engage with community stakeholders.
01:48They say that they take feedback quite seriously and they will be using that when planning
01:53for future events.