Police belatedly back inquiry as part of historic DV reforms

Police have accepted a commission of inquiry into widespread cultural issues in the force after initially saying one was “not warranted” and would be “extraordinarily costly”.

Police have accepted a commission of inquiry into widespread cultural issues that are denying domestic ­violence victims justice just months after railing against the need for one.

Acting Queensland Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski welcomed the ­government’s acceptance of the previously contentious recommendation to hold the inquiry, after Commissioner Katarina Carrol rejected it as unnecessary in December.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Tuesday accepted all 89 recommendations of Justice Margaret McMurdo’s first report of the Queensland Woman’s Safety and Justice Taskforce, which found ­perpetrators were being “emboldened” by police, lawyers and the courts in a scathing assessment of the failings of Queensland’s justice ­system.

Geoff and Priscilla Dickie, whose daughter Allison Baden-Clay was killed by her husband, were among those at Parliament House for the government’s announcement of domestic violence reforms. Picture: NewsWire / Sarah Marshall

Advocates and victims’ families, including those of Hannah Clarke and her children, Allison Baden-Clay, Doreen Langham and Kelly Wilkinson, sat in the parliament as Ms Palaszczuk announced the historic $363m, four-year investment to better protect women and children against domestic violence.

They include the criminalisation of coercive control, a four-month-long commission of inquiry – the details of which will be announced on Wednesday – and a raft of other watershed reforms.

“This is far-reaching, it is historic, and it is once again Queensland leading the way,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“What we have seen is that some women have fallen through the cracks and we want to do everything we can to prevent that from happening,” she said.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk making the announcement on Tuesday. Picture: NewsWire / Sarah Marshall

Attorney-General and Domestic Violence Prevention Minister Shannon Fentiman said the government would take its time to get the reforms right, which would include greater training for first-responders, judges and court staff, the modernisation of stalking laws, expanding specialist DV courts, trials of “co-responder” models staffed with police and specialist domestic violence workers and the establishment of a disclosure register of serious domestic and family violence offenders for authorities.

Ms Fentiman said some of the reforms would go directly to stopping the mistaken identification of victims as perpetrators, which happened too often, including by refusing to award DVO cross applications and instead insisting a judge decide which party was most in need of the protection.

More than $15m will fund Respectful Relationship education in schools and more than $16m will be spent on an education campaign in the media to raise awareness of the dangers of non-physical violence and how people can respond to coercive control.

And $25.5m will be spent on training and new positions within perpetrator programs, so more staff can work with them to stop dangerous behaviour.

Mr Gollschewski said the police service accepted the reforms announced and would fully co-operate with the commission of inquiry.

“The QPS responds to most DFV incidents very effectively, however, we acknowledge there have been some instances where we have not gotten it right and our organisation welcomes the opportunity to learn and improve,” he said in a statement.

“Responding to incidents of DFV is often challenging and complex. The inquiry is an opportunity for us to understand and reflect on what we can do, within our Service, to better protect victims of DFV.”

Talking about officers’ response to reports of DV Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said there were “some instances where we have not gotten it right and our organisation welcomes the opportunity to learn and improve”. Picture: Liam Kidston

It was a stark difference to Ms Carroll’s initial response in December when she said that while she did not “fear a ­commission of inquiry, I cannot support this recommendation”, that it was “not warranted” and would be “extraordinarily costly”.

It is understood since then, police have determined an inquiry could bring about much-wanted changes to time-consuming processes and paperwork unpopular with officers. They include extensive paperwork resulting from domestic violence call-outs and cumbersome processes such as requiring written statements from victims, rather than being able to use body cam recordings of testimony given on scene – a move that will soon be trialled.

Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carrol initially deemed the inquiry as unnecessary.

Queensland Police Union (QPU) president Ian Leavers previously described the McMurdo report as “another woke, out-of-touch report by a retired judge that overreaches where it pertains to police”. But on Tuesday he said the union had changed its position.

“Initially, the QPU was opposed to yet another Commission of Inquiry,” he said.

“However, after I gave evidence at the recent inquest surrounding the deaths of Hannah Clarke and her children, and, having spoken with Sue and Lloyd Clarke, we have now formed the view that the inquiry will present a real opportunity to continue to push for genuine reforms that the QPU has been seeking for some time.”

QPU president Ian Leavers said the union had changed its position on the inquiry. Picture: Brad Fleet

KEY INITIATIVES

$9.4m

First Nations partnership

$16.3m

Media campaign

$25.5m

Statewide network of perpetrator programs

$15.5m

Implement a whole school approach

$32.6m

Enhance DV training for frontline workers and engage more multi-agency teams in three new locations

23m

Trial of co-responder model

$60.4m

Fund two more specialised DFV Courts in key metropolitan areas

$106.8m

Improve safety and security for DV victims attending courts

$20m

Monitor DV data and ensure all recommendations are implemented through an independent implementation supervisor, who will report back to Queensland parliament

$49.5m

Miscellaneous DFV spending

$4m

Establish a DFV peak body

$106m

Independent Commission of Inquiry into Queensland Police Service (additional to the $363m funding for other measures)

MAIN POINTS

The State Government has accepted all 89 recommendations of the Hear Her Voice report of the Queensland Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce.

It will now:

* Establish a four-month independent commission of inquiry to examine widespread cultural issues within the Queensland Police Service relating to domestic and family violence issues

* Criminalise coercive control by 2023

* Consult on the creation of an independent Queensland Judicial Commission that responds to complaints about judicial officers and provides for their professional development

* Design, establish and resource a statewide network of perpetrator intervention and behaviour-change programs

* Ensure Respectful Relationships education programs in all schools and youth detention centres

* Trial ‘co-responder’ models staffed with police and specialist domestic violence workers

* Modernise and strengthen stalking laws for domestic violence victims

* Consider cross orders for DVOs together so that one order is made favouring the person most in need of protection

* Have a respondent’s criminal history provided to court in DVO applications

* Write a statutory code of conduct for private investigators to stop their use to exacerbate domestic violence

* Refer defences and excuses for murder for independent review

* Consider whether to expand the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act, which allows for a person’s continuous imprisonment, to dangerous violent offenders

* Establish a non-public disclosure register of serious domestic and family violence offenders by 2024