BULLYING is rife within the Queensland Police Service and it is driving officers out of the force and, tragically for some, to suicide.

Former Cairns police officer Rosario Russo, 43, who retired from the service in January, claims he suffered a mental and physical breakdown following years of job-related stress, bullying and threats from his fellow officers.

He claims his colleagues, who perceived him as a weak link within the service following his breakdown, tried to drive him out of the force by issuing him an improper search warrant for stealing property, a charge for which he was later cleared. He said the ordeal drove him to consider taking his own life.

"I received no support, no counselling. Basically they sent me back out on to the street with my Glock (gun) at my hip," he said. "The only reason I’m still here is because of my kids."

The Weekend Post has been in contact with current serving officers who tell their own stories of bullying in the ranks.

Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson has denied there is a culture of bullying in the police service, however, The Weekend Post has become aware of a report that links a large majority of police officer suicides to such treatment.

The independent report, compiled by James Cook University PhD candidate Timothy White in partnership with the Queensland Police Union, received no support from the Queensland Police Service. The union is at odds with the department over releasing the report.

Attempts by The Weekend Post to obtain the report have been unsuccessful but details published in the Queensland Police Union Journal reveal the majority of police suicides have involved the use of a service firearm, linking the act to the officer’s workplace. No official QPS study has been initiated into the reasons behind these acts, nor their prevention.

Mr Russo supported calls for a Royal Commission to examine police culture, saying he sympathised with Sen-Sgt Mick Isles, 58, who went missing from Ayr Police Station in late September after being cleared by the CMC of false claims of corruption. Isles’s family believes his disappearance is linked to his treatment by the Queensland Police Service during the nine-month investigation.

"They isolate you from your colleagues like they’re guilty by association," Mr Russo said.

"Basically you go to work on your own. You don't get invites to social events. They pile on the work," Mr Russo said.

The former officer said there were many others who had endured similar experiences, but were too scared to step forward.

"It’s out of control," he said.

"It’s gotten to a point where we do need an inquiry."

Queensland Police Union spokesman Ross Mussgrove said "undoubtedly" bullying occurred within a police officer's workplace.

"The police service, like many other employers has many instances of bullying within the ranks," Mr Mussgrove said.

While bullying was a problem, Mr Mussgrove said the jury was still out on whether it could be linked to suicidal acts.

But Brisbane psychologist Dr Warwick Middleton, who has had experience treating several police officers, said there was anecdotal evidence of suicidal behaviour being linked to bullying within the police workplace, or the result of being under investigation by their peers.

Dr Middleton, a member of the General Medical Assessment Tribunal, said the issue of police suicides needed to be properly addressed by the department.

"What is concerning is that so little is actually said publicly by the police about what would be very confronting and very disturbing instances," he said.

Dr Middleton supported calls for a clear and open investigation into the matter.

"These officers are very valuable, highly trained people, particularly in specialist branches where there is a large amount of training that goes into such an officer," he said.

"To have them lost is a significant loss to Queensland."

A police spokeswoman said the department would not comment on specific complaints and allegations made by former employees.

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