Australian policing has been in the spotlight in the past few weeks.

There were concerning scenes in New South Wales during protests against Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s visit, while Queensland Police’s commitment to curtailing domestic and family violence was queried when a specialist unit was scrapped.

These issues might appear to be separate, but they both highlight a masculinity problem within Australian policing.

It may be time for an Australian version of the United Kingdom’s 2023 Baroness Casey Review, which exposed worrying behaviour and cultural issues inside the UK’s Metropolitan Police Service.

Violence and a lack of support

In Sydney, the policing of protesters against the visit of Herzog led to serious questions about the use of force.

Protesters were pepper sprayed and forcibly penned in by police, leaving a 69-year-old woman with four broken vertebrae.

Despite NSW Premier Chris Minns defending the actions of police in Sydney, the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission announced last week its plans to investigate the violent clashes.

Meanwhile in Queensland, a tribunal revealed this month that the Queensland Police Service (QPS) had refused to discipline an officer accused of serious domestic violence against his heavily pregnant partner, citing “no tangible benefit” to doing so.

Less than a month earlier, the QPS scrapped its specialist domestic and family violence command unit.

This comes at a time when domestic and family violence incidents reported to police in Queensland increased by more than 220%........

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