Kylie Lang: Lessons of Hannah Clarke lead police to ‘do something different’

The Queensland Police Service has come under fire for repeatedly failing to respond appropriately to domestic violence matters, but its deputy chief insists new strategies and trials are working, writes Kylie Lang.

Deputy Commissioner Tracy Linford is at pains to point out that Queensland police are proactive in tackling domestic violence.

“I’d hate for the community to think we are sitting on our hands,” Linford tells me.

The Queensland Police Service has come under repeated fire for failing to act appropriately in DV matters, resulting in murderous outcomes that could, and should, have been avoided.

Hannah Clarke and her three children on February 19, 2020, and Doreen Langham a little over a year later on February 22, 2021, are but two chilling examples.

The inquest into the Clarke tragedy wrapped up this week and found police missed valuable opportunities to keep killer Rowan Baxter off the streets.

One senior constable who issued Baxter a police protection notice didn’t look up a risk assessment that showed he was a “high risk”.

He gave Baxter a notice to appear instead of taking him to the watch house for breaching a DV order (by assaulting his estranged wife) because Baxter had “nil criminal history”, the inquest heard.

Security camera footage of Rowan Baxter buying fuel cans and zip ties at Bunnings before killing his estranged wife Hannah Clarke and their three children.

The officer was also not aware the couple’s daughter Laianah, 4, had been abducted by force by Baxter on Boxing Day 2019.

Police Union president Ian Leavers told the inquest “hit and miss” training was at the root of response errors.

In Doreen Langham’s case, she begged 16 different police officers for help in the days before she was murdered by ex-partner Gary Hely but was “basically told to go away and don’t come back”, an inquest into her death heard last month.

One rookie officer admitted he thought a call out to her Logan home, hours before it was set alight with Ms Langham inside, was “unimportant”.

He and a fellow officer did not check the background of the perpetrator before doing a cursory search of the property.

Hannah Clarke with her children (L-R) Laianah, Aaliyah and Trey.

In my column on March 11, I asked how Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll could continue to snub calls for a review into cultural issues within her force (first recommended last December by the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce).

Surely after so many abysmal failures, the public – including victims and their families – deserves this, at the very least.

Ms Linford, who handles the DV portfolio and makes recommendations to Ms Carroll, says an inquiry is too costly and not necessary.

Not because the service doesn’t want to be scrutinised but because a number of recent initiatives are having promising results and “need time to work”.

“Eighteen months ago, after a series of DV events, we realised we’ve got to do something different,” Ms Linford tells me.

Domestic violence victim Doreen Langham.

The problem is enormous, and she is predicting another massive increase this year on the 120,000 DV cases police responded to last financial year.

In 70 percent of DV homicides, victims had no prior contact with police.

This societal cancer is spreading faster than police – who are only one part of the solution – can handle.

Ms Linford admits there is “a lot of work to do” but has faith in new strategies.

These include a “cultural change campaign” to improve the perception of and response to DV, embedding DV support workers in police stations (with trials in Coomera, Southport and Toowoomba); and a 2020 deterrence operation called Sierra Alessa.

Police identified 319 offenders with at least three DV orders and “proactively engaged with them to disrupt the behaviours” and connected them and their victims to support services. This led to a 56 per cent reduction in DV-related charges.

Assistant Commissioner Tracy Linford. Pic Jono Searle.

Operation Tango Alessa in 2021 resulted in a similar decrease through the use of a risk assessment tool developed by behavioural specialists and data scientists.

Ms Linford says the broadening use of QLiTE iPads, which instantly show DV orders and relationship information, and the trial of body-worn cameras to record victim statements for potential court cases are “making sure we are victim centric”.

If these measures are working so well, then the State Government must cough up and make them permanent fixtures.

They can’t save Hannah Clarke and Doreen Langham, but if they save others that’s money well spent.

Kylie Lang is associate editor of The Courier-Mail

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LOVE

The tributes to Shane Warne at his memorial extravaganza at the MCG. Children Summer, Jackson and Brooke would have made their dad proud, while Hugh Jackman said Warnie “sucked the marrow out of life”, reminding us to make the most of every day.

Easier commutes between Brisbane and the Sunshine and Gold Coasts, with a $3.9m federal spend on rail and roads ahead of the 2032 Olympics. Can’t come quickly enough.

LOATHE

The State Government spending $26.9 million of taxpayers’ money on hotel quarantine between February 5, when the Wellcamp facility opened, and March 31. Another misuse of our money.

Actor Will Smith failing to budge from his seat upon being asked to leave the Oscars after slapping Chris Rock over an inappropriate joke. Different rules for celebrities yet again, and violence is downplayed.