A mishandled domestic violence complaint against a Northern Territory Police Officer has raised new concerns about flaws in the NT justice system. Billie O'Keefe, who filed her complaint four years ago, continues to struggle with the trauma of a system she believes has consistently failed her.
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00:00This isn't the first time Billie O'Keefe's story has appeared in the media, but it is
00:08the first time she's told her own story.
00:11The former Alice Springs resident sat down with the ABC to share her experience of reporting
00:16her former partner, a current serving police officer, for alleged domestic violence in
00:22March 2020.
00:23For two years, police failed to investigate, and when they eventually did, the case never
00:28made it to court due to procedural bungles by police prosecutors.
00:33To have sorry in four, five, six different types of internal investigations, it's not
00:40a mistake.
00:41Today, neither the NT Police Commissioner nor the NT Minister for Police, Leah Finocchiaro,
00:46were available for on-camera interviews, but at a press conference, police reiterated their
00:52commitment to tackling domestic violence.
00:54What we have to do as a police force is acknowledge that we don't always get things right.
00:59But what I can say is since that time, we have created an entire domestic family violence
01:05and youth portfolio.
01:06In 2022, a senior detective publicly acknowledged failings by NT Police in dealing with alleged
01:13cases of domestic violence, and announced a review into how the force deals with such
01:18complaints.
01:20We asked NT Police leadership and the NT Police Minister for an update on that review, but
01:26no new information was provided.
01:28Those working in the sector say Billie's case reflects deeper issues.
01:33If this is the experience of this woman, then what about the women who identify as Aboriginal
01:38Torres Strait Islander?
01:40What about the women who are culturally and linguistically diverse, who have mental health
01:43conditions, who are incarcerated?
01:46Survivors contend without adequate resourcing for frontline responders and specialist legal
01:51services, more women will fall through the gaps.
01:55It's not that it rests with one step, one process, one person, unfortunately there are
02:01so many vulnerabilities throughout the system where we can see that something goes wrong
02:08and the victim survivor is not protected.
02:11How many other women have just given up on the process because the whole system has let
02:20them down?