By JOLENE OGLE
AN HORRIFIC week of domestic violence that saw the murders of two women and a machete attack on another woman has firmed the State Government’s resolve to act of the nationwide epidemic.
In a statement to the media, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced a raft of immediate actions to tackle domestic and family violence in Queensland, including improvements to the way police handle complaints.
The measures include priority attention for anyone who attends the front counter of a police station on domestic violence issues and the introduction of police supervisors to conduct mandatory quality checks on all over-the-counter requests for domestic violence orders (DVO).
But local police say they have already been carrying out the emergency measures as standard procedure for many years, and what is needed are tougher penalties for offenders.
Noosa Heads officer in charge Senior Sergeant Steve McReight said his team had always prioritised domestic and family violence.
“Domestic violence has always been a priority at any station I’ve been responsible for and I can assure you it’s always been a priority for my staff,” he said.
“If someone phones up and says there’s a domestic, our communication centre always prioritises that as a code two, lights and sirens … we get cars to the home as soon as we can. In that sense, we’re already carrying out the measures at this end of the coast.
“Secondly, if you come to the counter we do our best to listen to what you say, we then make an assessment whether we need to take action straight away.”
Sen Sgt McReight said there was currently a multi-layered approach to domestic violence at Noosa Heads police station.
“From an officer in charge point of view, every morning I get into the occurrence sheet and the minute I see a DV incident reported I read it to see if I’m satisfied with the actions of the officers attending,” he said.
“If I’m not satisfied with the actions I then question the officers and they explain the situation. Maybe the evidence wasn’t there and so on. “But, I’m very glad to say there are very few incidents where I need to question the actions.”
Noosa Heads police station also has a domestic violence liaison officer who is responsible for overviewing all domestic violence matters for every shift they work, plus they connect with people involved in DV and see if there’s something the police can do and liaise with all support agencies with referrals.
Sen Sgt McReight said domestic violence knew no discrimination, with officers called to at least one DV incident per day in Noosa Shire in recent weeks.
“Most incidents occur in the late evening or early morning,” he said. “Alcohol and drugs are usually involved and it’s usually the neighbours who phone us to say they have heard someone screaming or a disturbance.”
Sen Sgt McReight said he couldn’t comment on the State Government’s plan to increase the maximum penalties for first-time breaches of DVOs to three years’ jail and subsequent breaches to up to five years’ jail, but he said it was important for people to understand the police were not always able to act in certain situations.
“Sometimes actions can’t be policed because of the information provided by the person attending the police station because regardless of what happens, remember evidence has to be collected to support the case beyond reasonable doubt in the court of law,” he said.
Sen Sgt McReight said the best way to ensure action could be taken against an offender is to provide evidence either in the form of photographs or recordings.
“What the public needs to realise is we present the evidence to the court and the court interprets it and makes the findings,” he said.
“We have no input on what the court decides, and so it should be.”
Noosa Head domestic violence liaison officer Senior Constable Mark Jones spoke with Noosa Today about attending domestic violence incidents in the local community and said better deterrents were needed.
“We’ll never stop domestic violence completely,” he said.
“But we need stronger penalties to deter offenders.”
Sen Constable Jones said it was frustrating when police attending a DV incident couldn’t arrest an alleged offender due to a lack of evidence or co-operation, but said he hoped urgent reforms led to stronger penalties for offenders.
If you or anyone you know is affected by domestic or family violence, call DV Connect on 1800 811 811 or phone 000 in the case of an emergency.
The Noosa Heads police station is located on Langura Street, Noosaville, and is open from Monday to Friday from 8am to 4pm and can be phoned on 5440 8111.
