Police Response to Family Violence Data from ACT Policing

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Police Response to Family ViolenceData from ACT
Policing

• Therese Hackwill
• Research Officer
• Crime Prevention
• (Acknowledgement Ingrid Johnson, Tania
  Bierzonski-Burczyk)

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ACT Policing database

• Relationships defined under the Protection Orders
  Act 2001 - inclusive of extended family, married
  or defacto relationships.
• Incidents arising from dispute and requiring the
  use of police resources.

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Data collection

• Manual extraction from the police incident
  recording system (PROMIS).
• SPSS used for data entry.
• SPSS, Excel and SAS used for data analysis.

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Data collection

• 01 July 2001 to 30 June 2002
• 3 618 incidents 11.3 per 1 000 population.
• 8 061 persons directly involved.
• 2 485 (69) incidents had identifiable aggressor.

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Role by sex
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Role by sex
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Description of incidents

• Verbal only 1 345 (37.2)
• Verbal and physical 1 108 (30.6)
• Property damage/objects thrown 362 (10.0)
• Refuse to leave 225 (6.2)
• Phone/letter/e-mail 212 (5.9)
• Custody/access issues 132 (3.6)

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Description of incidents
Female aggressors Male aggressors
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Outcome of incident

• Formal action includes arrest, summons, VATAC,
  caution, First Instance Warrant, Fresh charge,
  EPO,
• Informal action includes referrals to DVCS,
  Family Services, Relationships Australia,

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Description and Outcome
Incident description Incident outcome
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Outcome

• 2 438 of incidents (67) had no offence
  disclosed.
• Insufficient evidence in 4.6 of incidents (165).
• Formal action taken in 1 016 incidents (28).

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Criminal action
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Offences

• 668 incidents (18.5 of all incidents)
  involved offences (1 573 offences recorded).
• Most frequent offences
• Common assault 501 (32 of all offences)
• Breach order 292 (19 of all offences)
• Property damage 188 (12 of all offences)

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Referrals

• 1 606 referrals were made to external agencies.
• DVCS attended 310 incidents.
• MHCT attended 211 incidents.
• Family Services attended 81 incidents.
• 137 notifications to Family Services.

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Relationships
2 925 relationships in 2 485 incidents with
aggressors
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Weapons, injuries and alcohol

• 633 incidents (17) resulted in injury 714
  persons injured.
• 333 persons (4 of persons) used weapons.
• 774 incidents (21) with persons affected by
  alcohol 1001 persons had consumed alcohol.

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Weapons, injuries and alcohol
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Children involved

• Children present in 1 238 incidents (34).
• 1 726 children.
• 320 child victims (11 of all victims, 32 of
  children) 280 incidents (8 of all incidents).
• 184 child aggressors (7 of all aggressors, 11
  of children).

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Children as victims

• 320 child victims (11 of all victims).
• 280 incidents involved child victims (8 of all
  incidents).
• 168 incidents involved children as victims in
  verbal and physical altercations.

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Child aggressors

• 183 incidents involved child aggressors
• Victim most commonly parent (71).
• 16 of victims were siblings.
• Verbal and physical 79 incidents (43 of 183).
• Verbal only 54 (29).

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Child aggressors

• Criminal action taken in 37 incidents.
• 23 resulted in arrest.
• Less likely to involve alcohol or injuries, more
  likely to involve weapons.

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Female aggressors

• 515 of 3618 incidents (15) involved female
  aggressors
• Less likely to involve physical assault, more
  likely to be custody/access issues

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Any questions?

• Therese Hackwill
• Research Officer
• Crime Prevention
• ACT Policing Australian Federal Police
• Therese.Hackwill_at_afp.gov.au

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