How Torres Strait police are working towards downturn in domestic violence

Breaches of domestic violence protection orders have dropped dramatically this year in one of the country’s most remote policing divisions. Here’s how it was achieved.

Breaches of domestic violence protection orders have dropped dramatically this year in one of the country’s most remote policing divisions.

There were 22 breaches recorded in the Thursday Island division in the first four months of this year, compared to a record total of 161 last year.

The second highest annual total was in 2021 with 129 breaches.

Sergeant Taiina Stevens, domestic and family violence co-ordinator on Thursday Island, has shared an exclusive insight into the policing work she’s overseeing across 14 Torres Strait Islands as well as the Northern Peninsula Area region.

She said despite fewer resources, officers have been working hard to communicate closely – often with police liaison officers there to translate – with both victim survivors and perpetrators to prevent further violence before it escalates.

“Going to a DV (situation) on any given day you don’t have two crews being able to back you up,” Sergeant Stevens said.

“You’ve really got to be able to connect to our victim survivor and our perpetrator to ensure their voices are being heard.

“Because sometimes they’ve got lost along the way, in the system possibly.”

Sergeant Stevens said that response often involved identifying what a family member might need and ensuring they’re referred to the right social service.

While police are working to prevent repeated call-outs, each response presents an opportunity to break the “cycle of continual abuse”.

“Yes they’ve had a DV incident, they’ve called police, but it’s about how can we now help them,” she said.

Sergeant Taiina Stevens, Domestic and Family Violence Co-ordinator on Thursday Island. Picture: QPS

“Do they need a referral to the women’s group here, do they need referral to child safety, do they need a referral to Centrelink, they might need support getting a job, they might need to get their licence.

“Those dynamics can put a lot of pressure on a family unit and police get called at that critical point.

“When we are there and people do call police, we need to try and get to the bottom of it … so we don’t end up in this cycle of DV where police are called again in a week’s time, in a month’s time.”

Sergeant Stevens said there were unique issues in the Torres Strait region that contributed to domestic violence.

“Sometimes it’s alcohol-related or drug-related, but a lot of the time it could be overcrowding and housing issues, child-rearing practices and cultural practices,” she said.

Breaches of domestic violence protection orders have dropped dramatically this year in the Thursday Island policing division. Picture: Supplied/QPS

“So we’ve really got to get down and communicate with those people … there may be issues going on there that we don’t understand and we’d like to understand.

“We’re just trying to break down those barriers and let them know that we’re not there to break families up, we’re not there to take someone out of a community.”

Sergeant Stevens said police were trying to put measures in place so people could still have functional families, communicate with each other effectively, and ensure “the children are doing the right thing growing up”.

“The main criteria is we want women and children to feel safe in homes and be free from DV,” she said.

Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence Minister Yvette D'Ath. Picture: Steve Pohlner

It comes as Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence Minister Yvette D’Ath, in a visit to Cairns, revealed the Far North police division would become the first to respond to domestic violence call-outs with specialists from Relationships Australia also attending the scene.

Ms D’Ath said while the drop in DVO breaches in Thursday Island was encouraging, she was eager to follow up on the work the policing division was doing.

“Stats alone are not enough – it’s understanding why,” she said.

Originally published as How Torres Strait police are working towards downturn in domestic violence