From today, people charged with serious domestic violence offences in New South Wales will be tracked with ankle monitoring devices. The devices will be used for any serious offender who is granted bail. Advocates say the move is a step forward but will not protect the thousands of victims of non-violent offenders, such as those suffering from coercive control.
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TVTranscript
00:00I think there's a lot to be said for keeping these really violent, serious perpetrators
00:07in our public view. So we need them to be held accountable for their behaviour. So there
00:12is definitely some arguments for this. What it won't do is solve the problem of thousands
00:19upon thousands of women and children at risk in the community. So it's got a narrow focus.
00:24And I think we do have to accept that those serious violent perpetrators, who have often
00:30violated many, many apprehended violence orders in the past, are people that our community
00:35needs to know are under the surveillance of authorities.
00:40Do you think it might give people a false sense of security in the community? I mean,
00:45you spoke about those repeat offenders, but of course, some perpetrators, in fact many
00:52of domestic violence, there may be no warning.
00:56We know that about 80% of domestic violence goes unreported to police. So we are dealing
01:03with that smaller end. So I do think that people need to be aware that this is a really
01:08limited move. And like all moves that use the criminal justice system, it only deals
01:14with that extreme end. I think that women and children who've been subject to domestic
01:19and family violence have very rarely put their faith in these systems. So they're
01:24not the people who are going to have a sense of false security, because they know the reality
01:28is that some of these perpetrators will continue to come after them and they will continue
01:35to take care of their safety.
01:37But let's face it, we absolutely do need to keep these violent perpetrators in our view.
01:43These ankle monitoring initiatives apply to quite a small group of people at the very
01:50serious offence end. And I do think that that's an important context. What we haven't done
01:55is address the perpetrators at the other end who have yet either to come to the attention
02:01of the police and the courts or to be charged with matters of these kinds of serious matters.
02:07This monitoring is part of a much bigger package, including bail reforms, meaning that alleged
02:14offenders will basically have to show cause as to why they should get bail rather than
02:18the reverse. Those laws have been in place for a few months now in New South Wales, keeping
02:26violent offenders behind bars. Have you noticed any changes for the better?
02:31We haven't heard a lot about this from victim survivors. But what I'd say is that it's going
02:35to take some time for this to filter through. And we've got to make sure that our courts,
02:40our magistrates, our police, our court staff are well equipped to manage this and to respond.
02:48So I think it takes time for these to hit the ground. What I am hearing from people
02:54in the courts is that there is a greater understanding of the level of risk and that these laws are
03:01being put into practice.
03:04Is this something that you think could or should be rolled out in the rest of Australia?
03:09Or do you think perhaps other jurisdictions might be best to wait and see what happens
03:14in New South Wales and kind of test its effectiveness?
03:18It's really important that people get some evidence about what works. And I'll tell you
03:22what we know is that what works is getting in early when women and children first step
03:28in and let people know that they're at risk. When we respond to them, so when we invest
03:34in response services like casework, support, domestic violence refuges, alternative housing,
03:42safety, planning, monitoring for surveillance devices and all of those things, when we actually
03:49get in earlier and respond to women when they first put their hands up for help, we get
03:54better outcomes. So I think that if nationally we could be doing that a bit more effectively
03:59and that means we actually have to put resources there and not just resources at this end in
04:04order to be effective. So nationally, I'd be saying that would be my first step. And
04:09I do think it's worth other states identifying how New South Wales is going with this. But
04:16I think across the country, communities are starting to say, why are we always asking
04:20women and children to change their behaviour? Actually, what we need are initiatives that
04:27bring perpetrators into view, bring accountability and ask those perpetrators to change their
04:33behaviour. So there may be some appetite for that. I think it's a very jurisdiction by
04:37jurisdiction choice.