Stuart Grimley MP says sexual assault under-reported, database to track reasons investigations dropped needed
A Torquay MP says a database collating reasons why sexual assault investigations are dropped is needed to improve justice for victims.
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A database collating reasons why sexual assault investigations are dropped is needed to improve justice for victims, Torquay MP says.
Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party’s Victorian leader and former sexual offences detective Stuart Grimley said not enough investigations proceeded to court.
“Working at the sexual offences and child abuse investigation (SOCIT) team at Victoria Police, it was incredibly frustrating seeing sexual assault cases reported and not being able to bring a perpetrator to justice as a result,” Mr Grimley said.
“Knowing the reasons that cases aren’t making it to court or being pursued by victims is really important to changing the strategy around pursuing sexual assault investigations.
“It’s frankly not good enough that less than a third of sexual assault reports actually result in legal action, so I’m hoping by creating a database of reasons we can work towards justice for victims.”
Mr Grimley said the database, which would protect the identities, could improve the state government’s response to under-reporting.
Spokeswomen for Victoria Police and the government did not say if a database would be established.
The government spokeswoman said the Victorian Law Reform Commission was reviewing rape, sexual assault and other sexual offence laws to help reduce trauma for those going to court.
“This builds on reforms we’ve already made to improve court processes for victims of sexual assault – such as legislating to improving prosecution services’ communication with victims, establishing an improved complaints process and abolishing committal hearings in sexual offence proceedings involving child and cognitively impaired complainants,” she said.
The VLRC review will recommend how the government can improve sexual offence laws, and is to be presented to the Attorney-General by August 31 next year.
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The spokeswoman said the government was working to implement higher rates of evidence admissibility in sexual offence trials, and sexual cases were prioritised through courts.
The police spokeswoman said the force recorded the status of sexual offence investigations which are available via the Crime Statistics Agency.
“Victoria Police is committed to continually exploring ways, including through working with our partner agencies, to enhance our response, and secure the best possible outcome for victims of sexual assault,” she said. “In any investigation police prioritise victims’ safety and wellbeing.
“We understand how much courage it takes for victims to come forward. It may take days, months or years after the incident has occurred, making physical evidence less of a factor when investigating these crimes.
“We don’t expect anyone to remember every detail of the incident.”
More than 500 specialist male and female SOCIT investigators work with victims from the time of reporting to court proceedings.
Originally published as Stuart Grimley MP says sexual assault under-reported, database to track reasons investigations dropped needed