NT: 200 domestic violence events on her record, and no cop came
An Aboriginal woman allegedly murdered by her partner in Darwin, after police were requested to conduct a welfare check just nine hours earlier, had almost 200 mostly domestic violence related entries in the police system.
An Aboriginal woman allegedly murdered by her partner in Darwin, after police were requested by Territory Families and neighbours to conduct a welfare check just nine hours earlier, had almost 200 mostly domestic violence related entries in the police system.
The woman in her 40s was also the protected person in two more domestic violence orders, with questions raised over police resources, following revelations in The Australian that Territory police were “too busy” to conduct the requested welfare check on the woman hours before she was found dead.
On Thursday, Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said the NT Police Force had been let down by the previous Labor government, which “had failed to back in our police to provide the powers and resources they need to keep the community safe”.
Many on-the-ground police say they are “incredibly” under-staffed despite having the highest ratio of police per population in the nation.
One serving police officer said a Domestic and Family Violence Risk Assessment and Management Framework, which the victim would have been subject to and which allows for the sharing of information between Territory Families and NT police – should have “sounded code red alarms” and placed her at “serious risk” of domestic violence.
It comes as the fallout continues following revelations NT police knew the woman was vulnerable and failed to perform the welfare check requested by Territory Families before she was found allegedly murdered by her partner.
Ms Finocchiaro said she had met with the chief executive of the Department of the Chief Minister and Cabinet, Ken Davies, and Police Commissioner Michael Murphy “on day one of this new government to outline the immediate work that must begin to make Territorians safe”.
She said there would be a “whole of government approach” to support police who “can’t be left to carry everything as they have been in the past”.
“We will back the Territory’s police with the laws they need to do their job,” she said.
The NT Police Association said domestic violence was so “entrenched” across the Territory that up to 80 per cent of triple-0 calls from July 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, were DV-related.
On Thursday, NT police dodged detailed questions regarding the circumstances of Territory Families’ referral of the woman, instead directing questions to the department.
A police spokesperson also refused to confirm whether there was an internal review – separate to a coronial inquest – being undertaken to determine why police were unable to conduct a welfare check on the woman.
Because of staffing issues, police have told The Australian, there are at times as few as three general duties police vehicles on the road in greater Darwin, when there should be a minimum of 10 for the region.
“No one wants to work in this job,” one said.
NT Police Association president Nathan Finn wrote earlier this year about the challenges of working as a frontline police officer in the Territory.
“Our members are attacked and abused regularly, with sticks, rocks, crossbows, machetes, spears, axes, and firearms through to an all-too-common biohazard of being spat on,” he said.
“Yet, the brave men and women of the NT police willingly place themselves in harm’s way, every single day.”
Concerned police initially contacted The Australian, dismayed by the apparent cover-up and failure by the top brass to disclose Territory Families’ referral to the public.
Weeks prior to last Saturday’s election, both the CLP and Territory Labor committed to $180m funding for the domestic violence sector over five years.
The majority of “additional” funding provided under Labor was spent on overtime, and desperately trying to recruit new members to cover the shortfall caused by unsupported officers leaving in droves.
If you know more contact liam.mendes@protonmail.com or via Signal at +61 423 456 893
More Coverage
‘Let’s get Dutton’: ALP to play the man in negative election campaign strategy
Anthony Albanese will run a negative election campaign against Peter Dutton’s ‘arrogant, aggressive and reckless’ personality and won’t rely on Labor’s record alone to try and win a second term.
Read more
ACT may as well not ‘bother with democracy’: Carnell
Former Liberal ACT chief minister Kate Carnell has lashed out after Labor won a seventh term in the nation’s capital and the Liberal Party confronts 27 years in opposition.
Read more