Territory Families worker’s failed plea for help for alleged murder victim

A Territory Families staffer was so concerned about the welfare of an Aboriginal woman who was later found dead that they walked into a police station to request assistance, as a senior NT policeman conceded his officers were ‘overworked and overwhelmed’.

Desmond Frankie Booth has been charged with murder. Source: World Socialist Web Site

A Territory Families staffer was so concerned about the welfare of an Aboriginal woman who was later found dead that they walked into a Darwin police station to request assistance, it can be revealed, as a senior NT policeman conceded his officers were “overworked and overwhelmed” by the sheer number of domestic and family ­violence cases.

The resourcing pressures faced by Territory police are under the spotlight following the alleged murder of the 43-year-old mother at the hands of her partner, Desmond Frankie Booth, who had been prohibited from contacting her for 20 years just weeks prior to her death.

Last week, The Australian revealed police were “too busy” to conduct a welfare check on the woman that had been requested nine hours before she was found.

It comes as NT police assistant commissioner of domestic violence and youth Michael White said on Monday his officers were “overworked and overwhelmed” by the sheer number of domestic and family violence in the Territory, and that police were reviewing the case and the force’s “ongoing demand issues”.

“It is really challenging, difficult and stressful, not only for the victims but … for the responders as well. So we’re doing everything we can to improve our services across the board, to keep women and children safe,” he said

Assistant Commissioner White said the resourcing issues police were facing came down to demand. “The demand is because people treat their loved ones with disrespect and violence and they target them when they should be caring and loving towards their partners,” he said. “It is a systemic issue across the Territory, and we, alone as police officers, cannot stop it from happening.

NT Police Assistant Commissioner Michael White says police are reviewing “ongoing demand issues”. Picture: Jason Walls

“As part of the reforms that we’re doing in the Northern Territory police, we are placing senior police officers within the desk to oversight … every single domestic violence incident separate from normal watch commander duties, to ensure we have greater oversight, greater coverage and better risk assessment on those jobs.”

It was not uncommon for a case worker to have to make a referral to NT police via walking in to a police station, DV advocates said, with no formal line of communication between police, Territory Families and other agencies.

Federal senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has called for a dedicated domestic violence response taskforce after extensive revelations by this masthead that the alleged victim was subject to two other DVOs; the resourcing issues police are facing; and questions as to why police failed to conduct the welfare check following Territory Families’ referral.

Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price. Picture: Liam Mendes

“The situation we currently have in the Northern Territory is lose-lose-lose. Domestic violence victims lose, the police force lose, and the general public lose,” Senator Nampijinpa Price said on Monday.

“In a system as broken as this, where preventable deaths are occurring, we must ensure the most efficient and effective systems of communication between organisations like Territory Families and police are in place, and serious thought needs to be given to a dedicated domestic violence response taskforce,” she said.

Senator Nampijinpa Price called for an internal investigation into police, separate to the coronial, prior to another death. “There needs to be an internal investi­gation into why our most vulnerable are being failed this many times every day,” she said.

She also called for more resourcing for police “so they can respond and prevent these deaths that are simply inexcusable”.

“We cannot forget that Indigenous Australians experience the highest rates of domestic and family violence. To that end, we must acknowledge the root problems causing violent behaviour, and be willing to address them,” she said.

The Australian revealed on Saturday that NT police failed to respond to more than 100 domestic violence cases called in over a two-day period last week, with some of the ­requests up to two days old, and that the alleged victim had almost 200 mostly domestic violence-related entries in the police system.

The concerns were echoed by domestic violence advocate Ana Aitcheson, operations manager at Darwin DV shelter Dawn House, who reiterated calls for a “solid process” to reporting and undertaking welfare checks.

“It needs to have one clear place to do welfare checks, but also have a clear communications back and forth, otherwise things can slip through the gaps,” she said.