Police say Rachelle Childs’ case demonstrates female detectives should be involved in investigating crimes against women
Former senior detectives have revealed cold cases involving violent crimes against women — like Rachelle Childs who was murdered and burned — suffered for a critical reason.
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Exclusive: Female detectives should automatically be prioritised for teams investigating violent crimes against women, several respected homicide detectives say.
The officers, from NSW and Victorian forces, said many cold case investigations had suffered from a “boys’ club” culture of misogyny, where female detectives were sidelined and disparaged.
And they see merit in women leading, co-leading – or at the very least being a bigger part of – investigations into the death or disappearance of women, which routinely happens in Canada and Europe.
“We don’t see many women on TV giving what’s called a stand-up or doorstop interview about an update on a fresh homicide investigation,” said Detective Inspector Mick Ashwood, who investigated Ivan Milat, child killers, and cold case killings over a 25-year career.
“Why is that?”
The detectives’ comments come in response to the release of True Crime Australia’s new podcast Dear Rachelle, which probes the 2001 death of Rachelle Childs.
Watch the video of the Dear Rachelle investigation above.
Rachelle, who had no known enemies, was looking forward to a long weekend break.
She disappeared after leaving work at a used car dealership in Camden, south-west of Sydney, on June 7.
Her body was discovered 110km away in bushland in the beachside town of Gerroa.
LISTEN TO EPISODES 1 AND 2 OF THE PODCAST BELOW:
Mr Ashwood, who supervised a homicide squad review of Rachelle’s case in 2002 and discovered that the “victimology” aspect of the investigation had been incomplete, said male detectives “have a natural bias to see things from the lens of a male”.
“We (men) don’t understand female victims.
“And I challenge anyone to say different.”
Ex-NSW detective Damian Loone said lead female investigators for female homicides has “absolute merit”, noting women are better than men at asking questions of women.
“There are lots of very, very talented female investigators out there in NSW and across the nation, and I would encourage more of them to come into working in specialised squads,” he said.
Former Melbourne homicide detective, Charlie Bezzina, said the introduction of a female detective to a male dominated police squad in the early 2000s was a breakthrough.
“Women can relate better in some of these circumstances,’’ Mr Bezzina said.
“I’d agree women should be part of any crew looking into a homicide, especially when the deceased is a woman.
“A female detective investigating a female murder and going through the history of the victim will impart a different perspective.”
Victorian Detective Sergeant Meta Vincent, who has investigated murders, said feminine traits bring a more empathetic approach.
“As a woman, I’m more in tune with fear,” she said.
“It just comes naturally in terms of self-protection and protection of others. You know when someone is afraid. You pick up on things.”
Kris Illingsworth was the NSW police criminal profiler for 10 of her 25 years in the force.
She was one of 50 or so female officers, including now NSW commissioner Karen Webb, who successfully lobbied for a dedicated NSW adult sex crimes unit to investigate sex crimes primarily carried out against women.
The absence of such a unit beforehand “alone speaks to the misogyny that existed in the police which was reflective of the broader community views about women”.
“Very few opportunities were given to women, and yeah, it was a blokey job and a very blokey environment,” she said.
“If you don’t have women involved in the investigation, you miss that whole perspective.”
Mr Ashwood acknowledged that historically low numbers of female police had been an impediment.
In 2006, according to the Australian Institute of Criminology, 23 per cent of Australian police officers were women, compared with 13.5 per cent a decade earlier.
Said the institute’s 1996 Women in Policing study: “Women officers are steered towards traditionally female tasks, are the subject of negative attitudes from older officers (but not younger ones), are seen to lack commitment, are more frequently asked to undertake those activities requiring people skills.”
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