Exposing Australian Police Misconduct and Toxic Culture
And advocating for Independent Police Watchdogs
Police Commissioners must obey

TOXICPOLICE.COM - EXPOSING AUSTRALIAN POLICE MISCONDUCT

This site catalogues and curates published articles and research about twenty-first century toxic behaviours and misconduct perpetrated by serving Australian police officers. Too often their toxic behaviours are tolerated by their organisations, tainting the reputations of all officers, the majority of whom are hard-working, dedicated people who put their lives on the line to protect us all from the bad people in our societies, as well as dealing with many stressful situations. This tolerance is driven by the apparent priority frequently given by police commissioners to protecting their organisations' reputation over justice for those wronged by the toxic behaviours. This is a national phenomenon and one that not only diminishes the reputation of our police forces in the public eye, but is also now challenging the recruitment and retention of quality, experienced police officers, putting the public at risk.

"Reputation before Justice"

Reputation beofre justice. Australian police commissioners often prioritise their forces' reputations over justice

The Australian police toxic behaviours and misconduct examples published include domestic violence, unreasonable force and unwarranted violence towards members of the public, homophobia and bullying of LGBTQ+ officers, sexism and misogyny, racism and racial profiling, sexual misconduct and crimes, plus a much wider set of misconduct recorded on the "Other" page. The toxic list goes on, the cases keep coming.

A West Australian Police van parked in a street at night. The image supports toxic.com's focus on toxic behaviours demonstrated by Australian police in the twenty-first century.

Home: Welcome

Why does this site exist?

The decision to launch this website began with casual conversations among friends from the suburbs around Fremantle, Western Australia. Each is a professional, a homeowner, and a parent with no history of conflict with police. All respect the crucial work of police officers in protecting the community, handling crime, road accidents, and domestic violence. Most officers, they agree, are decent and honest. Yet each person had troubling personal encounters revealing a toxic culture within parts of WA Police. Common experiences included interactions that were cold, humourless, suspicious, militaristic, and hostile—an “us versus them” mentality where the public is treated as the enemy. There was also a shared belief that many officers see themselves as above the law and prioritise protecting each other and the reputation of WA Police over truth and justice. In short: good cops protect bad cops.

Some incidents went far beyond poor attitude. One man described being stopped at a late-night roadblock near Fremantle, directed into a dark, unfamiliar carpark, and politely asking an officer for directions—only to be met with, “What do you ******* think, ****?” Another involved a young man, “Michael,” chatting with a woman on Fremantle’s main strip when a uniformed officer—apparently the woman’s acquaintance—violently shoved and kneed him while shouting, as two other officers stood by. The group also recounted far more serious episodes of brutality, hidden body-cam evidence, and police covering for one another—details withheld here out of fear of retaliation.

These consistent experiences suggested deeper cultural problems, prompting the group to research whether they had simply encountered “rogue cops.” The evidence showed otherwise. Across Australia, publicly documented cases reveal a persistent toxic police culture—one often hostile to the public and tolerant of misconduct, including domestic violence. At the extreme are examples of murder, corruption, falsified evidence, and perjury. Police leaders frequently prioritise protecting institutional reputation over justice, with internal investigations regularly contradicting independent watchdog findings.

A fundamental flaw is structural: police commissioners are not bound to follow independent watchdog advice regarding prosecutions or disciplinary action. This means police forces largely investigate themselves—the fox policing the henhouse—allowing the good to protect the bad and tainting the entire profession.

While some officers are punished for misconduct, most complaints end in exoneration or token penalties. For instance, in the year ending June 2019, New South Wales recorded about thirty-seven domestic and family violence offenders per 10,000 people, yet only eleven of more than 17,000 NSW Police officers were charged. Across the nation, new cases or updates on police violence, corruption, and racism appear almost monthly, with little sign of change.

This website gathers those cases to expose the scope and repetition of police toxicity—what some call the “cultural demise” of Australian policing. Progress toward reform has been minimal this century. Change will only come when the public fully grasps the scale of the problem and when political leaders show courage to act. The ideal outcome: the eradication of police misconduct and state laws requiring commissioners to follow independent watchdog directions on officer discipline.

Feel free to browse the various toxic behaviours and misconduct sections which are being maintained with regular updates as continuing cases are published. The Extreme Cases pages warrant special focus - unbelievable examples of toxic Australian police behaviours, including the fatal tasering of a 95-year-old nursing home female patient, murders, serial rape, and drug trafficking. And, yes, they all really happened, in the twenty-first century, and probably will again until the authorities make fundamental changes to the way our police officers are recruited, police forces are managed and there is a focused effort to stamp out the toxic culture they harbour.

CONTACT: Signal app username Jackarz.47