Victorian risk register to aid police response to family violence
A new register to be launched statewide from today will give frontline police the names, mugshots and criminal history of the most high-risk family violence perpetrators in a bid to protect victims.
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A register of high-risk family violence perpetrators will be created by Victoria Police in a “game-changing” new approach to better protect victims.
A sophisticated new ranking system, to be launched statewide today, will be used by frontline police to predict the likelihood of severe or repeated violence against victims and immediately alert investigators to high-risk cases.
The new Family Violence Reports will form a statewide register of names, mugshots and criminal history of the most dangerous offenders.
It will for the first time offer police an insight into the scale of high-risk family violence offending.
Family Violence Command Assistant Commissioner Dean McWhirter described the system as a historic leap forward for the force.
“This is the most significant change we have made since we began responding to family violence incidents,” he said.
“For the first time we have developed a methodology that defines what high risk and medium risk looks like.”
The new FVRs, completed in the field with iPad technology, give a score of 0-15 for risk of reoccurring or severe violence based on questions surrounding offender history, family dynamics, substance abuse and violence triggers.
Other questions in the series include whether an offender has a firearm or has made threats to kill or injure the victim, relatives or a pet.
Cases with a risk factor of four or more are referred to the specialist Family Violence Investigative Unit for action.
The FVRs include a much stronger focus on children and their exposure to violence.
Mr McWhirter said the new model gathers crucial information that will fast-track serious cases, and inform vital support services so victims get the right help fast.
“Police officers will be better equipped to understand the intricacies of relationships to determine the risk level. It also allows police to collect consistent information to better track repeat offenders and those who breach intervention orders,” he said.
The system was developed after the inquest into the death of 11-year-old Luke Batty, who was brutally killed at cricket practice by his father, a known abuser who was wanted by several police units at the time.
A two-year trial of the FVR system had showed a “significant reduction” in severe harm for victims in test regions Hobsons Bay, Maribynong, Wyndham, Brimbank and Melton.
Early indications suggest family violence recidivism could drop by more than 10 per cent with the new report and investigative model.
It could also reduce the severity of violence by about 30 per cent.
Mr McWhirter hoped the system would mean more victims put their faith in the force to protect them.
“We are committed to getting better outcomes for victims,” he said.
Previously police responding to family violence incidents took a written statement from victims or other parties which had to be manually logged at the end of their shift.
The new system is a huge time saver and includes talk-to-text capabilities so victims are spared the trauma of reliving the abuse for reporting purposes.
Violence against families and children accounts for up to 60 per cent of frontline police work statewide.
Police responded to more than 81,000 family violence incidents in the year to March 2019.
Police minister Lisa Neville said police have been given the tools to combat our biggest “law and order” problem.
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“This new reporting tool gives our frontline police the ability to make faster, more accurate reports as they’re responding to a family violence incident, better protecting victims and providing timelier referrals to support services,” she said.
A total of 230 family violence investigators will be rolled out by January next year.
Up to 15 per cent of high-risk cases will be managed by the investigators, who monitor perpetrators for breaches of intention orders or bail condition or other offending.
Covert listening or tracking devices can be used in certain circumstances.
About a fifth of family violence cases will be referred to Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Teams.
Today also completes the statewide rollout of more than 9000 iPads and iPhones to allow frontline police and protective services officers to remotely complete the FVRs as well as assault, harassment, property damage and justice procedure reports.
The system was developed after the inquest into the death of 11-year-old Luke Batty, killed at cricket practice by his father, a known abuser who was wanted by police at the time.