Qld domestic violence laws hearing in Cairns told against extra police powers

Plans to slap DV offenders with GPS trackers have been supported by community groups, but giving cops’ additional powers to bypass the courts have come under question.

Allowing police to bypass the courts and take direct action against domestic violence offenders could deny victim’s access to support services, a community centre has argued, while generally supporting the use of GPS trackers proposed under new state laws.

A public hearing into the state government’s proposed Domestic and Family Violence Protection Amendment Bill in Cairns last week was told “police do not need more powers; police need more resources.”

The proposed legislation seeks to establish a system of police protection directions to “improve efficiencies” by empowering officers to issue immediate long-term protection directions without filing an application for a proceeding before a court.

It also seeks to support an electronic monitoring pilot for high-risk DFV perpetrators, and could include “safety devices” offered to aggrieved parties.

Visual representation of the domestic violence crisis in Cairns. Picture: Elodie Jakes

Cairns Regional Domestic Violence chief executive Sandra Keogh told the hearing she was concerned of the potential loss accountability and oversight currently provided by the courts when adjudicating applications, as well as the opportunity for organisations like hers to offer services when offenders and victims appeared.

Ms Keogh organisation and its volunteer management committee operates on donations and funding from the Queensland Government.

“What we sometimes see in court is magistrates will read an application and will sometimes ask police around criminal charges that might evolve out of what has actually happened in that (DV) incident as well,” she said.

Cairns Regional Domestic Violence chief executive Sandra Keogh. Picture: Nuno Avendano

“I think there are some real issues around having police as investigator and adjudicator. That is part of the reason judicial oversight is really important.”

Ms Keogh said the Queensland Government had invested “millions of dollars” into specialist DV courts, and that they had been “effective in increasing the understanding for both aggrieved and respondents around the processes.”

“Taking court out of the occasion completely takes away that opportunity to engage with those specialist services … it is almost defeating the purpose.”

She said of the 400 direct police referrals her organisation received in the last quarter, there was a success rate of connecting with about 30 per cent.

CRDV chief executive Sandra Keogh says the judicial process is vital in the application for orders and directions. Picture: Istock

“But if those people go to court, then we have the opportunity to engage them in that space.

“We know from the death reviews that only about 13 per cent of those people who have been killed had access to a specialist service.”

Ms Keogh supported the use of electronic monitoring devices but warned of the Far North’s telecommunication connectivity challenges.

CentaCare FNQ executive director Anita Veivers said she supported the “direction” of the proposed laws, but pointed out the lack of support for region’s culturally-diverse communities including victims with limited English abilities, visa dependency and migration-related fears, cultural stigma around reporting violence and distrust in formal systems including police.

The committee will hear from witnesses in Brisbane on Monday with the final report due by June 20.

Queensland Police Union Shane Prior is in favour of additional police powers in DV incidents. Police Academy. Picture: Liam Kidston

It comes as Queensland Police Union president Shane Prior warned officers were quitting the force at a rate of one per day due to burnout while saying officers had taken on the role of “social workers or referees for people’s faulty relationship” in DFV incidents.

“This is why the new government DFV legislation introducing police protection directions and body worn camera footage as evidence is so vital in cutting down that time,” Mr Prior said.

Originally published as Qld domestic violence laws hearing in Cairns told against extra police powers