Queensland police commissioner Ian Stewart admits raising the national terrorism threat level has drawn police away from more traditional routine duties.
When Australia's alert level was elevated from "medium" to "high" four months ago, Mr Stewart asked all sworn officers to wear their service firearm whenever they were in public.
Mr Stewart also continues to carry his own firearm despite the fact that the commissioner traditionally does not.
"It's very important that our people have the right tools to do their job and their firearm and accoutrements are part of those tools that they need on a daily basis," he told AAP on Wednesday.
At the beginning of January, it emerged Queensland police had performed nearly 30 per cent fewer random breath tests (RBT) in the 2014 Christmas road safety campaign than in the previous year.
Senior police officers said resources had been prioritised into having a high visibility at major public events.
Mr Stewart agreed the raising of the national alert level has drawn officers away from other places.
"The logical answer to that is yes," he said.
"Because our first priority is to keep the community safe. Safe and secure."
But he said the overall number of RBTs undertaken during the calendar year of 2014 was higher than 2013 despite the drop-off over certain periods.
"A lot of that would be around the prioritising of our people to ... mass gatherings," he said.
"We are definitely providing more frontline police to those places and I would hope that the community would support us in that regard."
Mr Stewart urged the public not to stigmatise particular cultures or religions after December's Martin Place siege in Sydney and the more recent terror attack on French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris.
"What I'm trying to point out is that there are crims amongst us from every background, from every culture," he said.
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