Domestic Violence

Contents

CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION

• INTRODUCTION.
• History of Domestic Violence Response in the ACT
  • The Law Reform Commission's Recommendations.
    • The Domestic Violence Act 1986
    • The Domestic Violence Crisis Service
    • Other Recommendations
• Present situation in the ACT
  • History of the current reference
  • Interim recommendations
    • Privacy - the provision of information by the AFP to the DVCS.
    • Seizure of weapons.
  • Summary of submissions received
    • Term of reference (b): Arrest and court procedures having regard to a broadly held public view that the charging of offenders is the responsibility of the victim
    • Term of reference (c): The collection of statistics on domestic violence in the ACT
    • Term of reference (d): The implementation of automatic preventive detention or refusal of bail to violent offenders
    • Term of reference(e): The implementation of mandatory arrest and custodial detention of violent offenders
    • Term of reference (g): The need for awareness training for magistrates
    • Term of reference (h): The provision of background information to the Court to assist in determining penalties for breaches of protection orders
    • Term of reference (i): The need for a specialist domestic violence unit within the police service
    • Term of reference(j): The use of Behavioural Change programs as sentencing options for violent offenders convicted of criminal assault
    • Term of reference (k): The facilitation of information exchange between agencies with due regard to privacy provisions
    • Other issues raised in the submissions:
  • Summary of findings of the Research Paper32

CHAPTER 2: KEY THEMES

• Equality before the law
• Security of the person
• Nature of domestic violence
• Public/private dichotomy
• System abuse
• Responsibility and criminality
• Criminal and civil responses
• Systems approach - policy, co-ordination and monitoring
• Victim Support
• Offender services
• Gender and violence
• Education

CHAPTER 3: POLICY

• The importance of domestic violence policy
• Position in other Australian states
• Existing policy in the ACT
• An ACT Domestic Violence Strategy
• ACT Domestic Violence Advisory Council
• Statistics, Measures and Research
  • The need for statistics on domestic violence
  • Present Problems
  • Some solutions

CHAPTER 4: BEST PRACTICE CRIMINAL JUSTICE RESPONSE TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

• Key elements
  • Criminality.
  • Law driven rather than victim driven.
  • Rights of the offender.
  • Law enforcement policing.
  • State responsibility for prosecution.
  • Vigilance in relation to bail.
  • Just determination and sentencing.
  • Victim support.
  • Monitoring and case tracking.
• Police response
  • Handling calls for help
  • At the scene
  • Investigation
  • Charging policies
  • Arrest
• Bail
  • Bail Practices.
  • Lethality Indicators.
  • Information for the offender
• Prosecution
  • Research Findings
  • 'No drop' policy.
  • Vertical prosecution.
  • Fast tracking domestic violence cases.
  • Victim support and safety.
  • Calling the victim to give evidence.
  • Expert Evidence.
  • Prosecution guidelines.
  • Prosecutor training.
  • Sentencing submissions
  • Participation in police training
• Courts
  • Research Findings.
  • Leadership and clarity
  • Vigilance in relation to bail.
  • Fast tracking domestic violence cases.
  • Victim Support and Safety
  • Just determination and sentencing.
  • Judicial Education
  • Monitoring and feedback
• Corrective services
  • Court Reports
  • Supervision
  • Procedures for Breach
  • Parole review
  • Guidelines
  • Education
• Victim support

CHAPTER 5: CRIMINAL JUSTICE RESPONSE IN THE ACT

• Progress
• Police Response
  • The Research Paper
  • Powers and instructions
  • Handling calls for help
  • At the scene
  • Gender balanced police teams
  • Victim support
  • Investigation
  • Charge
• Arrest
  • Legislation
  • Options in relation to Arrest
    • Option 1: Police Regional Instructions, police training and monitoring.
    • Option 2: In addition to option 1, amend section 349W (1) to address points raised by the police about the safety of the victim and of third persons in the context of domestic violence.
    • Option 3: Clarify power to arrest in domestic violence cases.
  • Police Regional Instructions in relation to arrest in domestic violence cases
• Police Bail
  • Legislation
  • Concerns about police Bail Processes
  • Options in relation to police Bail
    • Option 1: Procedural improvements.
    • Option 2: Remove presumption in favour of police bail in domestic violence cases
    • Option 3: Remove presumption in favour of police bail and require the police to only grant bail where satisfied that there is no risk of danger to the victim.
    • Option 4: Remove police power to grant bail.
    • Option 5: Remove police power to grant bail for serious offences or in specified situations.
  • Conclusion
• Preventative detention
• Police Domestic Violence Unit
• Quality assurance in the police force
  • Supervision
  • Monitoring and evaluation
  • Officer contact and inquiries.
• Police training
  • The importance of police training
  • Content of current police training
  • Frequency and duration of police training.
• Revision of police Regional Instructions in relation to domestic violence
  • Law Enforcement approach
  • Neutralising and equalising language
  • Victim support.
• Information for the offender
  • Option 1: The police.
  • Option 2: ACT Corrective Services.
  • Option 3: Other services or groups.
  • Option 4: The ACT Domestic Violence Project Coordinator.
• Prosecution
  • Prosecution policy
  • An ACT DPP Domestic Violence Prosecution Policy
  • Options to develop and introduce an ACT DPP Domestic Violence Prosecution Policy
  • Assignment of prosecutors
  • Prosecutor Training
  • Liaison with police
• The Courts
  • Research Paper and Submissions
  • Court Bail
    • Reversing the presumption in favour of bail
  • Bail Assessment Reports
  • Fast Tracking
  • Separate Waiting Facilities
  • Video Evidence
  • Sentencing
    • General Principles
    • Matters taken into account
    • Pre-Sentence Reports
    • Victim Impact Statements
  • History of Violence Evidence
  • Perpetrator education programs and sentencing
    • Community Based Sentence
    • Supervision
    • Deferred Sentence
    • Community based sentence on finding of guilt
    • Sentence of Imprisonment
    • Practice Directions
  • Judicial Education
• Corrective services
  • ACT Parole Board
  • ACT Corrective Services
  • Community based corrections
  • Current Approach of ACT Corrective Services
  • An ACT Corrective Services Policy and Guidelines
  • Guidelines for Court Reports
    • Bail Assessment Reports
    • Pre-Sentence Reports
  • Guidelines for Supervision
  • Streamlined Procedures For Breach
  • Guidelines for Perpetrator Education Programs
  • Training

Chapter 6: OTHER ISSUES RELATING TO THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE RESPONSE

• Definition of Domestic Violence Offence
• Stalking
  • What is stalking?
  • Why create an offence of stalking and/or intimidation?
  • Legislative definition
  • What should be included in a stalking offence?
    • Applicability
    • Intention
    • Third Parties
    • Behaviour occurring on two separate occasions
  • Penalties for stalking
  • Police Training
• Penalties for breach of DVOs
  • Penalties for other criminal offences
  • Legislation in other States
  • Reciprocal Arrangements between states.
  • Value of Increasing Penalties
• Diversionary Conferencing and Domestic Violence
  • What is diversionary conferencing?
  • Application to domestic violence offences
• Orders for costs against the police

CHAPTER 7: THE ACT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INTERVENTION PROJECT- BOTTOM UP COORDINATION

• The Project
• What is the 'Duluth model'?
• Application of the Duluth model to the ACT
• Is the Duluth model needed?
• Establishing the Duluth model in the ACT
• The Domestic Violence Project Coordinator
  • Functions of the Domestic Violence Project Coordinator
  • Nature of the Domestic Violence Project Coordinator
• Establishing the ACT Domestic Violence Intervention Project
  • Set up phase of DVIP
• Costs of Domestic Violence.
  • The NSW Study
  • The NZ Study8
  • The 1988 Queensland study.17
• Estimated cost of domestic violence in the ACT
  • Incidence.
  • Calculating costs.

CHAPTER 8: PERPETRATOR PROGRAMS

• Overview of programs presently operating in the ACT
• Literature review
• Victim safety
• Perpetrator responsibility and criminal accountability
• Evaluation
• Competition for funds
• Payment for programs
• Arguments for and against perpetrator programs
• Pros and cons of court ordered attendance
• Evaluation of ordered attendance
• When orders for attendance should be possible
  • Ordering as a term of a protection order or restraining order?
  • Bail Condition for attendance at perpetrator programs
  • Ordered attendance as a condition of a bond or probation?
  • Attendance as a condition of parole
• Availability of voluntary perpetrator programs in the ACT
• Regulation of voluntary perpetrator programs in the ACT
  • 7.Appendix B
  • List of Submissions
• Organisations
• Individuals
• References
• The Reference