Delivering forensic services

Tabled Report 21: 2018–19

Tabled date

2019-06-27

Report year

2018-19

Justice and public order

Entities audited

Not identified in the published HTML audit scope.

Recommendations

1. QAO's text Addressed to: the Queensland Police Service and Queensland Health

   implement a governance structure to effectively coordinate and provide accountability for managing forensic services across agencies

   The terms of reference should include: 

   • identifying current and future demand and the required resources for forensic services
   • establishing processes to capture the extent and impact of delays from forensic services, including the impact on courts
   • implementing a performance framework to measure and report on the effectiveness and efficiency of forensic services. This should include ensuring each agency has appropriate performance targets
   • ongoing consultation with the Department of Justice and Attorney-General about the delivery of forensic services and impact on the justice system. (Chapters 2 and 3)

2. QAO's text Addressed to: implement a process to coordinate and manage collecting, transporting, prioritising, and destroying illicit drugs. The revised process

   implement a process to coordinate and manage collecting, transporting, prioritising, and destroying illicit drugs. The revised process should reduce the risks to security, occupational health and safety, and the cost of unnecessary handling (Chapter 2).

3. QAO's text Addressed to: improves its quality assurance processes and practices to ensure all police property facilities conduct an annual audit of all property and exhibits. These audits

   improves its quality assurance processes and practices to ensure all police property facilities conduct an annual audit of all property and exhibits. These audits should be standardised and documented, with findings reported to senior management (Chapter 3).

4. QAO's text Addressed to: the Department of Health, in collaboration with the Queensland Police Service and all hospital and health services

   continues to develop and deliver reforms to forensic medical examinations to improve services to victims, including:

   • implementing service agreements to deliver forensic medical examinations
   • developing strategies to recruit and retain appropriately trained physicians and nurses for forensic medical examinations across the state
   • implementing a range of reporting pathways and supporting processes for all victims requiring forensic medical examinations
   • improving clinician’s awareness of reporting options for victims of sexual assault
   • improving the availability of, and access to, paediatric services for child victims of sexual assault
   • establishing local interagency support services which better integrate clinicians, police and non-government services (Chapter 2).

5. QAO's text Addressed to: improve the prioritisation and timely sharing of case information between agencies. This

   improve the prioritisation and timely sharing of case information between agencies. This should include establishing systems and processes (and where possible automation) to ensure there is real-time notification of changes in priority or status to avoid unnecessary analysis (Chapter 3). 

Authoritative report — Queensland Audit Office

Report PDF on QAO