Operations Support Command

Operations Support Command provides operational police with a range of specialist support services essential to the effective management of police activities. The Command comprises seven branches which combine to provide technical, policy and professional support, ensuring an efficient and effective policing service: Communications Branch, Disaster and Major Event Planning Branch, Forensic Services Branch, Legal Services Branch, Policing Advancement Branch, Specialist Services Branch and State Traffic Support Branch.

Communications Branch operates the Police Communications Centre, which is responsible for receiving ‘000’ emergency police calls and dispatching officers to attend to both emergency and routine incidents.

Disaster and Major Event Planning Branch (DMEPB) is responsible for the preparation of police operational plans and procedures in response to special and large State events in Queensland, such as the 2001 Goodwill Games. The Branch coordinates operational training for specialist police squads that will be involved in such events through its State Search and Rescue Unit, Coronial Support Unit and the Disaster Victim Identification Squad (DVIS). The Superintendent of DMEPB is the state DVIS Commander. The DVIS is a functional unit whose primary role is to remove and identify the remains of deceased victims of major incidents, accidents, air disasters and natural disasters. DMEPB also is responsible for the management of the Police Air Wing.

Forensic Services Branch provides expert services in photography, physical evidence, ballistics, document examination, audio visual signal processing, analytical science and fingerprints to operational officers. The Branch also provides statewide Scenes of Crime coordination, DNA recording and electronic recording of interviews and evidence policy.

Legal Services Branch manages all the legal responsibilities of the Queensland Police Service, such as developing, maintaining and implementing legislation to support operational policing; providing an on-call facility to advise operational officers in matters concerned with the practical application of the law; receiving and updating legal resource materials such as publications; and advising the QPS Review Committee and police through the State on Police Service reviews. The Branch incorporates the Prosecutions Corps, which is in charge of prosecuting offenders appearing in the Magistrate, Coroner and Children’s Courts in the Brisbane area, as well as in training police prosecutors throughout the State.

Policing Advancement Branch is responsible for developing and maintaining initiatives to enhance proactive policing in the Service. Units in this Branch include: Drug and Alcohol Coordination, which is responsible for the development and management of drug and alcohol projects and issues in the Service; and Crime Prevention, which promotes crime preventative strategies, including Problem-Oriented Policing (POP), Safety House, Police Beat Shopfronts, Neighbourhood Watch, Policing in Schools, Safety Audits, Domestic Violence, Protective Behaviours, Property Security, Security Improvement Program, Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), Home Assist/Secure, and the At Risk Premises Project. Queensland Police Citizens Youth Welfare Association (PCYCWA), with the Queensland Blue Light Association Incorporated (QBLAI), provides activities for young people and communities across Queensland. Service Operational Procedures develops and maintains policing policy documents and resources by operational officers.

Specialist Services Branch incorporates units such as the Dog Squad, Explosive Ordnance Response Team (Bomb Squad), Mounted Police and Water Police. The Public Response Team has specially trained police equipped to respond to confrontation and violence in public areas and at public events. The Specialist Emergency Response Team (SERT) provides highly trained specialists to resolve violent incidents, high-level search and rescue operations, and dissolve confrontational situations. Negotiators at Specialist Services Branch provide coordination, training and specialist equipment to support negotiators who attend incidents involving suicide intervention, barricaded situations, hostage incidents and high-risk warrants. The Railway Squad provides a police presence on the Queensland Rail network to enhance the safety of passengers.

State Traffic Support Branch is responsible for the development and maintenance of programs, projects, campaigns and legislation designed to make Queensland roads safer, as well as liaising with other government departments, community groups, national and international police services on traffic matters. The Branch overviews the development of policy, legislation and performance guidelines relating to the movement of heavy, excess dimensional and house removal transportation escorts and road use generally. The Branch also collates and evaluates traffic statistics and trends for the State. Within this Branch is the Accident Investigation Squad, the Traffic Camera Office, Breath Analysis State Support and the State Traffic Task Force.

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