Police body worn cameras used to collect family violence victim statements
VICTIMS of family violence have given statements to polÂice on officers’ body worn cameras for the first time this week.
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VICTIMS of family violence have given statements to police on officers’ body worn cameras for the first time this week.
Police in Ballarat and Epping started the trial this week as they push on with a plan to make the cameras an essential every day tool for its officers.
The digitally recorded statements from victims may be used as evidence-in-chief in court.
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Police say the aim is to help family violence victims avoid the trauma of giving evidence in court.
So far 20 police officers have completed the specialist family violence camera training.
The force is confident every front line officer and PSO will have a body worn camera by 2020.
The family violence camera trial will run for at least 12 months and will be evaluated to measure the impact of body worn cameras in capturing statements on victims of family violence, police, courts, legal practitioners and on the administration of justice.
Assistant Commissioner Dean McWhirter, head of Victoria Police’s family violence command, said the move was “a step forward in providing better support for victims of family violence”.
“We understand it can be a difficult experience for victims to re-live the trauma of family violence incidents when giving evidence in court, and we’re hoping to reduce this,” Mr McWhirter said.
“The process will work in the same way a traditional written statement does – the victim will have to give informed consent prior to making their statement.
“A digitally recorded statement will be used as the evidence-in-chief of a victim of family violence either in place of, or in addition to, a written statement.
“Police officers still have the option of taking a written statement.”
Family violence victims will still need to be present in court to confirm the truthfulness of their video statement and for any potential cross-examination.
“It is hoped that the digitally recorded evidence will also assist with police investigations and might increase guilty pleas by providing higher quality evidence in court,” Mr McWhirter said.
Police Minister Lisa Neville said: “The use of body-worn cameras in Ballarat and Epping already proved their worth. The technology to collect statements at the scene of a crime will better support victims and help police and prosecutors hold perpetrators to account.”
Ms Neville added: “Body-worn cameras will be a critical tool to help police respond to family violence issues and other crimes in our community. We know that police respond to a family violence incident every seven minutes.”
The trial comes after the Royal Commission into Family Violence found body worn cameras could be a key tool in the response to family violence incidents.