Clarence MP Richie Williamson calls for tighter bail laws, better DV preventive measures as police under fire over Sarah Miles case
The state MP for Casino has spoken out and defended local officers following the horrific discovery of slain mum of three Sarah Miles, while scrutiny over NSW Police’s wider response to DV in the region mounts.
NSW
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The state MP for Casino has spoken out and defended local cops as scrutiny over the police response mounts following the discovery of slain mum of three Sarah Miles at the weekend.
Ms Miles was found unconscious, suffering injuries to her head, when police arrived at her Johnston St home on Saturday morning. She deteriorated and died at the property.
Officers made the horrific discovery a few minutes drive from the local station more than an hour after a triple-0 caller reported hearing screams at the property, it has emerged.
Dwayne John Creighton, 31, has been charged with the murder of the mother believed to be in her 40s and remanded in custody. No plea has been enetered and he is due to face Lismore court again on August 28.
A pair of women understood to be related to Ms Miles and a man supporting them were in the courtroom on Monday. They sat in the front row of the public gallery and appeared to weep as they were handed tissues.
Clarence Nationals MP Richie Williamson said the police dispatch time was “concerning”.
However, he said he believed it only took local police about two minutes to respond when the call came through to Casino Police Station.
“The hour it took from the triple-0 call to the call getting to our local cops was too long and something that will get fleshed out during the investigation – and it is most alarming,” he said.
Mr Williamson said he had not personally heard of similar instances involving poor response times to domestic violence reports in the town about 30 kilometres southwest of Lismore.
“This is the first I’m aware of and it’s a very sad situation we find ourselves in,” he said.
“It’s an extremely distressing and sad time for our community and as a member of parliament, I and each one of the NSW parliamentarians need to do more to offer more protection to victims of domestic and family violence. It needs our urgent and utmost attention.”
Mr Williamson said preventive legal measures need to be enforced properly.
“I don’t think bail laws are tight enough,” he said.
Mr Williamson said there was great “room for improvement” and there needed to be consideration of further “measures can be put in place as a community to stop these types of things from happening”.
NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley has ordered an independent review and on Monday morning she butted heads with Sunrise TV host Nat Barr.
Ms Barr asked: “This was logged as a priority three (job), instead of a priority one. How on Earth can that happen when we know that a woman is dying at least once a week?”
“Well clearly something has gone wrong here and we need to make sure that this investigation is thorough and we get to the bottom of it, and if there’s a glitch in the system we’ll fix it,” Ms Catley replied.
“It’s disgraceful police not responding when they should have,” an unidentified relative has told the media.
In a statement, Ms Miles’ family thanked members of the public for condolences and asked for privacy.
“Sarah was a loving, talented and compassionate person,” they wrote.
“She made an impact on everyone she met.
“This is tragic and an unbelievable loss for her children and family who she loved dearly.”
Ms Miles is the 47th woman allegedly murdered in the nation this year.
After her tragic death, Northern Rivers residents have told The Northern Star of situations in which they claim to have called triple-0 and police took considerable time or did not come at all.
One woman said on Facebook a man threatened to kill her outside of a supermarket “and they did not come” – referring to police.
Another woman wrote she phoned triple-0 in Casino about three weeks ago and police took an hour to arrive. She said that “there was no staff at Casino (listed as a 24-hour station) and the car was coming from Lismore”.
“Considering the area and the crime nowadays everywhere, why aren’t they staffed? Our situation was also a violent DV call … triple-0 means emergency right?,” she asked.
Another woman said she rang a local station to report an alleged apprehended violence order breach and “was put on hold” until the phone “rang out”.
Adding to the chorus of complaints, another woman wrote: “The amount of times I’ve called to report DV and the cops haven’t shown at all is astounding.”
Another woman wrote: “DV isn’t taken seriously until someone ends up dead.”
Police will be contacted for a response to the comments.
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Originally published as Clarence MP Richie Williamson calls for tighter bail laws, better DV preventive measures as police under fire over Sarah Miles case
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