NSW Police has had a reputation for being a bastion of bullying, harassment, sexism, nepotism and inadequate mental health support, and has been accused of being out of step with the times. A review of police force culture has found those accusations to be well-founded.
As rapid technological advancement, geopolitical instability and the increasingly borderless nature of crime reshape society and generate new forms of criminality, the independent cultural review into NSW Police found our force remains a high-conflict workforce with a culture that’s insular and resistant to change, employees who are afraid to speak up and troubling levels of bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment.
The review, carried out by former Victorian equal opportunity human rights commissioner Kristen Hilton, made 29 recommendations aimed at addressing perceived favouritism, and a lack of diversity and accountability for poor behaviour.
Other recommendations addressed strengthening complaint processes, including involving the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission in reviewing how workplace behaviour matters are handled. NSW Police accepted all the recommendations.
NSW Police culture has been the subject of many critical reports over the years, but this time about a quarter of the force’s 20,000-strong workforce responded to the confidential survey, which Hilton said showed high trust in the independent process and undoubted support for meaningful reform.
This latest cultural analysis is the legacy of former commissioner Karen Webb who, in late 2024, initiated Hilton’s review after many media reports of “boys’ club” bullying and harassment, sexism, nepotism and a lack of mental health support for officers.
Webb, NSW’s first woman commissioner, stepped down last September, well before the end of her five-year posting. There were legitimate criticisms of Webb’s performance, particularly her timidity in front of the cameras, but her leadership was also undermined by leaks and white-anting from male-dominated factions within NSW Police.
Unsurprisingly, Hilton’s report described a blokey culture and tellingly noted that women still held just 18.2 per cent of all senior NSW Police leadership positions.
Reforms under Webb – including a large pay increase, improved complaints-reporting systems, a mandatory obligation for officers to report police misconduct and confidentiality protections for complainants – laid the basis for a cultural shift. This report gives her successor, Mal Lanyon, a blueprint for further reform.
Police Minister Yasmin Catley said cultural shifts took time and commitment. “The police force in New South Wales is committed … and the government will support them,” she said.
Policing in NSW is undergoing profound and accelerating change. Traditional crime rates have declined, but demand for policing has not. At a time when NSW is still facing recruitment problems and must use its resources effectively to tackle problems such as domestic violence, youth crime and gang warfare in Sydney, these entrenched cultural issues are holding it back.
It is deeply concerning that problems exposed in Hilton’s report have been allowed to fester. Lanyon’s tenure will be judged on his ability to clean the wound.
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