Victims of domestic abuse deserve to have their claims handled safely and without bias or conflict. But right now in NSW, victims of domestic abuse perpetrated by a police officer face a police system stacked against them.
Police officers are at least as likely to commit a domestic and family violence (DFV) offence as the general population but, unlike most people, they spend 40% of their work handling DFV incidents. And unlike most people, police officers have permits to use weapons, they can access police records and they have knowledge and influence within an opaque police network.
To make matters worse, if you're a victim of domestic abuse at the hands of a police officer, your claim can be assessed by your abuser’s mates and colleagues – not only does this present a clear risk of conflict of interest, but it actively discourages the victim from coming forward and getting the help they need to keep them safe. The only thing preventing police from handling DFV claims brought against a fellow police officer from the same Command is if the Commander decides to transfer the investigation to another Command (which rarely happens).
Because of all this, there’s a huge number of complaints brought by partners and former partners of police officers who have been unable to obtain justice. These victims are left frustrated by a system that gives police officers additional resources to harm their victims while also shielding those officers from criticism and accountability.
Police investigating other police in DFV matters has been criticised by both the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission* and the NSW Auditor-General**, both of which recommend that such an investigation should be required to be transferred to another Command. Regrettably, the NSW Police have refused to accept even this most basic and obvious of recommendations.
The privacy and safety of complainants must be protected as a matter of priority in matters involving alleged police perpetrators. Actual or perceived conflicts of interest interfere with the process for obtaining justice, and act as a deterrent for complainants to come forward.
Enough is enough – the Labor Government must make this a priority, by urgently fixing the culture of the NSW police when it comes to policing domestic and family violence matters.
Email the Police Minister now, demanding they urgently require domestic and family violence complaints to be investigated by a Command separate to the alleged perpetrator.
*LECC, June 2023, Review of NSW Police Force responses to domestic and family violence incidents
**NSW Auditor-General, 4 April 2022, Performance Audit: Police responses to domestic and family violence
Email the Police Minister now, demanding urgent action to reform NSW Police’s handling of domestic abuse in their own ranks.