Shaping wellbeing by reducing organisational stress in policing

At the recent Youth Technology & Virtual Communities conference, hosted by Argos and the Queensland Police Service, Dr Jacqueline Drew, who leads the Psychology in Policing and Public Safety (PIPPS) Lab at Griffith University, shared insights from the EMPOWER Wellbeing Program. This police-specific initiative is designed to reduce psycho-social hazards in policing. Unlike traditional wellbeing programs that focus solely on managing individual stress, EMPOWER tackles systemic issues, recognising that true wellbeing is shaped by the way work is structured, organised and supported. 

The program, offered in versions such as the EMPOWER Staff Program and EMPOWER Leaders Program, equips participants with practical strategies to improve wellbeing at individual, team, and organisational levels. The ultimate goal is to foster a more positive and supportive police culture. Senior leaders have acknowledged its importance, expressing appreciation for the way it supports officers’ wellbeing and contributes to the organisation’s ongoing growth.

The three domains of police wellbeing 

Griffith’s research highlights three main areas where stressors occur: 

• Trauma – direct and vicarious exposure to traumatic events and materials. 

• Organisational – the systems, policies, and procedures of policing, and how agencies interact with the wider justice system. 

• Operational – the way frontline work is structured, including shift patterns and public interactions. 

While trauma exposure will always be part of policing, organisational and operational hazards are areas where systemic improvements can make a meaningful difference. 

Dr Jacqueline Drew presenting at the Youth Technology & Virtual Communities conference

Organisational hazards 

Common organisational stressors include: 

• Staff shortages 

• Bureaucratic red tape 

• Internal organisational changes 

• Inconsistent leadership styles 

• Excessive administrative duties 

• The sense of needing to constantly prove yourself 

• Perceptions of unequal treatment 

Operational hazards 

On the operational side, stressors often involve: 

• Heavy paperwork 

• Fatigue from shift work and overtime 

• Limited time with family and friends 

• Feeling constantly "on the job" 

• Struggles to maintain physical health and social balance 

Staff shortages: More than a numbers problem 

When a police agency is under-staffed, the shortfall is not simply absorbed. It spreads across every shift, stretching hours, increasing expectations, and forcing already burdened officers to pick up non-core duties on top of urgent operational work. This reduces service capacity and also chips away at morale, wellbeing, and work-life balance. A national ABC News report in 2024 highlighted the scale of the issue, revealing more than 4,500 vacancies across police forces in Australia, with some jurisdictions operating with 10 to 12 percent of positions unfilled.  

The effects ripple through communities as well as the workforce. In early 2025, Queensland police reported the need to fill more than 900 positions across the state. About 300 positions were vacant in the Greater Brisbane districts of north and south Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich, and Moreton as of December 31, 2024 according to figures provided to the Brisbane Times. For individuals, this reality means starting every day already behind, with non-urgent tasks postponed indefinitely and urgent matters piling higher. Over time, it fosters fatigue, frustration, and even moral injury, as officers feel unable to fulfil duties that matter. It also fuels perceptions of unfairness, as some personnel shoulder heavier loads than others, leaving many with the sense that different rules or expectations apply depending on where they sit.  

Excessive administrative duties and paperwork: The hidden drag 

While the public often sees policing as fast-paced frontline work, much of the reality happens behind a desk. Officers spend countless hours on paperwork, including writing reports, preparing cases for court, liaising with other agencies, and documenting incidents for compliance and accountability. For many, this administrative load does not just happen during rostered hours. It bleeds into personal time, stretching already long shifts and leaving little opportunity to recover. 

Police in Western Australia have recently raised concerns that new government reforms are tying them up in paperwork rather than allowing them to patrol. Instead of spending time in the community, officers find themselves bogged down in compliance documentation, leaving less capacity to respond to calls for service. Similar frustrations have surfaced elsewhere.  

The consequences are significant. Administrative backlogs can delay investigations, increase stress over deadlines and accuracy, and heighten the fear of missing a critical detail. Over time, repetitive and often redundant paperwork contributes to fatigue, frustration, and burnout. For officers who signed up to protect communities, the sense of being trapped in endless paperwork creates a disconnect between the job they envisioned and the reality they experience. 

The role of technology 

This is where technology and smarter systems can make a difference. Many of the organisational and operational stressors are driven by excessive administration and inefficient processes. Platforms like Comtrac support the same goals as the EMPOWER program by helping to reduce unnecessary burdens and create healthier, more sustainable careers in policing. 

By streamlining workflows, digitising briefs of evidence, and reducing repetitive administrative tasks, modern solutions allow officers to focus more on frontline work and less on paperwork. While staffing pressures and organisational challenges remain complex issues, smarter tools can help alleviate some of the daily stressors that weigh heavily on police wellbeing. 

While much of EMPOWER program’s work is about raising awareness and equipping leaders and staff to manage day-to-day wellbeing, part of the challenge is systemic: policies, resource allocation, protocols, and technology often lag behind these demands. 

Initiatives like the EMPOWER Wellbeing Program shows that improving police wellbeing requires more than resilience training. It requires organisational change and smarter tools that reduce stressors at the root. Together, programs like EMPOWER and technologies like Comtrac can help shift the culture of policing toward one that is more supportive, sustainable, and focused on the people who serve our communities.