Townsville police expand Domestic, Family Violence and Vulnerable Persons Unit to handle high demand

The number of police with expert training to combat domestic and family violence in Townsville will more than double as daily DV-related call-outs surge to almost 35.

The number of police with expert training to combat domestic and family violence in Townsville will more than double as daily DV-related call-outs surge to almost 35.

Townsville’s Acting Chief Superintendent Chris Lawson revealed the district recently got the green light to increase its Domestic, Family Violence and Vulnerable Persons Unit by 13 with the addition of a detective senior sergeant, two sergeants and 10 general duties constables.

“The expansion is a response to us identifying that domestic and family violence is a significant issue here in the community, and we wanted to be in the best place to be able to provide the policing response to meet that demand,” he said.

It comes after six additional specialist positions were recently created within Townsville’s Domestic and Family Violence court to deal with the city’s shocking domestic violence rate.

Townsville's Acting Chief Superintendent Chris Lawson and Acting OIC of Townsville's Domestic and Family Violence Unit, Sergeant Elise Feltham. Picture: Natasha Emeck

Sergeant Elise Feltham, acting officer in charge of the Domestic, Family Violence and Vulnerable Persons Unit, said the expansion was “phenomenal” news for their seven-person team.

“What we’re trying to do now is rotate officers from general duties through the unit to try and give them the nuisances and educate them on better responses to DV,” she said.

“Obviously the district is taking domestic and family violence very seriously, and it’s taking up a substantial amount of our time so they’ve decided that we should have some subject matter experts that are dealing with it.”

Sgt Feltham said she believed the increase in DV-related call-outs they saw in Townsville was partly due to better community awareness and more people coming forward to report things.

“We’re doing about 30 to 35 (daily DV-related call-outs) in the Townsville district at the moment,” she said.

“It’s almost about 12,000 occurrences a year, and they range from intimidation, stalking, physical violence, threats of violence, or any pattern of behaviour where one party had power and control over the other.”

During Domestic and Family Violence Month in May, Sgt Feltham said police want to spread awareness to help locals identify all forms of domestic and family violence.

“Just because it’s not physical violence doesn’t mean it’s not domestic violence,” she said.

“You will see from past homicides that we’ve had; there has been very minimal physical violence prior to the homicide occurring itself.

“There are many more (indicators) including coercive control and power and control.”

She said more subtle warning signs could include partners checking each other’s phones or following their movements with a phone app; requiring someone to dress a certain way; sexual jealousy; isolation from family and friends so that person has absolute control over them.

Sgt Feltham encouraged family or friends to approach people in their lives they may be concerned about by checking in on how they are doing and offering support.

“People can be very, very embarrassed by the time they find out they may be under the power of control of someone else and be too scared to talk about it,” Sgt Feltham said.

“It’s about being able to approach it. Recognising there is a problem and not forcing anything on someone but just saying, I’m here when you’re ready to talk.

“If someone has extreme concerns they’re obviously welcome to call the police, and we’ll talk to them about that.”

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic or family violence you can contact the National Sexual Violence Counselling Service 24-hour helpline 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732. In an emergency, call triple-0.

Originally published as Townsville police expand Domestic, Family Violence and Vulnerable Persons Unit to handle high demand