Betty Taylor has been fighting the scourge of domestic violence in Queensland for more than three decades and even she was shocked by the explosive testimonies she heard at an inquiry into police culture.
Key points:
- Leading advocate Betty Taylor is calling for a domestic violence and sexual assault commissioner
- Current officers told the inquiry unconscious bias was a major issue and misogyny “ran wild” in the force
- Tuesday marks the final day of public hearings, with a report to be handed down in October
WARNING: This story contains strong language that some readers may find offensive.
The chief executive of the Red Rose Foundation has been closely following the inquiry into the Queensland Police Service’s (QPS) response to domestic and family violence, which has spanned five weeks and heard from dozens of witnesses, including current and retired police officers.
With Tuesday marking its final day of public hearings, the inquiry has painted a damning picture of police culture and problematic attitudes in the ranks towards domestic violence survivors.
Misogynistic attitudes towards women, policy and procedural failures as well as serious allegations of police inaction to protect domestic violence survivors have all been laid bare.
Ms Taylor said officers’ response to domestic and family violence in Queensland was the worst she’s ever witnessed in her 34 years of advocacy.
“This inquiry is incredibly important. I’ve worked across the domestic violence field for 34 years and … the response by police is the worst it’s ever been,” Ms Taylor said.
“Not even just by police — I think women are getting a rough deal in the community and through the courts.
“Victims have to have confidence in the police. They’ve got to know they can call and… be taken seriously.”
‘Time for really significant reforms’
Ms Taylor said she hoped the inquiry would provide momentum for meaningful change and reform.
“We’ve got women potentially being murdered and police aren’t taking the time to do thorough investigations. It really concerns me,” she said.
“My hope is [that] we really step up and look at what domestic violence really is: one of the worst crimes in our community.
“It’s time to step back and reflect and put in place some really significant reforms.”
Headed by Judge Deborah Richards, the landmark inquiry’s goal is to determine whether cultural issues are negatively impacting how police handle domestic violence cases, as well as the experience of Indigenous domestic violence victims and the way corrupt conduct and complaints against police are dealt with.
A key recommendation of the Women’s Safety and Justice taskforce, the inquiry follows urgent calls for action after several high-profile domestic violence murders, including the deaths of Doreen Langham, Hannah Clarke and her three children.
Among the explosive evidence, one service officer — who cannot be identified for legal reasons — told the inquiry that misogyny “ran wild” within the force as he detailed hearing male colleagues frequently making derogatory remarks about female survivors and avoiding domestic violence incidents altogether.
“Domestic violence is just foreplay”, “she’s too ugly to be raped”, “rape is just surprise sex” and “I can see why he does it to her — if I was in his position, I’d do that,” the officer told the inquiry, recounting comments he had heard made by seasoned male officers.
The officer became emotional as he told the inquiry “the core business in his station was misogyny, dehumanization and negligence.”
‘She’s just blowing hot air’
Retired officer Audra Pollard — who was a coordinator officer in police call centers — told the inquiry she witnessed police deliberately driving away from a suburb to avoid responding to a domestic violence incident.
Ms Pollard said her colleagues would often make derogatory comments about “repeat” domestic violence complainants, saying things like: “Oh — that f**kwit has called again” “That spoon is on the line again”, “Don’t bother sending a crew to that job, she’s just blowing hot air, that sort of thing.”
The inquiry also heard from Sergeant Paul Trinder, a shift supervisor, who recalled a time where two officers, including a senior constable, downplayed a serious domestic violence incident, despite “clear photographic evidence” of assault and threats made against the victim.
“There was a statement from the aggrieved person that the respondent had threatened to decapitate the family dog in front of her and her children,” Sergeant Trinder told the inquiry.
“That victim had been failed by that officer. There was clear photographic evidence that she had been assaulted, like a punch-sized bruise around her rib cage and so on.
“That information was not provided to me at the time.”
The inquiry was told of another instance where a police officer did not investigate the suspicious death of a domestic violence victim because she and her husband were a “pair of scumbags who lived in a sh*t area in a sh*t house”.
Sergeant Trinder said “unconscious bias” was a major problem.
The inquiry was also told Indigenous domestic violence victims were turned away from police stations or misidentified as perpetrators.
‘DV fatigue’ blamed for police inaction
Several witnesses told the inquiry that officers were “DV fatigued” and fearful of scrutiny over their response to a large volume of cases, with police spending more than 40 per cent of their time responding to domestic violence matters.
As part of the inquiry, consultant and former detective Mark Ainsworth interviewed more than 50 police officers and found there was a culture of “taking shortcuts” to avoid doing DV orders because of their “convoluted nature”.
Mr Ainsworth was told the “culture of doing the bare minimum might be a coping mechanism to deal with being overworked and DV-fatigued”.
The inquiry also heard from the state’s most senior officer in charge of DV investigations, Assistant Commissioner Brian Codd, who said officers were overwhelmed, fatigued and reporting high levels of burnout and psychological distress.
He did concede that there were “significant issues of police culture at play.”
“We may have some members, albeit I hope very few, who do have some deeply misogynistic attitudes,” Assistant Commissioner Codd told the inquiry, although he did not say the issue was systemic.
Police unsurprised by officers perpetrating domestic violence
The inquiry also revealed 38 Queensland police officers were currently subject to domestic and family violence orders as of June 30.
One officer, the inquiry was told, who was served wiith a Police Protection Notice (PPN), allegedly breached it just 33 minutes after being served a copy of it, while another allegedly used the QPS database to try to locate the crisis shelter of his ex-wife, who had lodged a DV complaint against him.
Assistant Police Commissioner Cheryl Scanlon — who heads the internal affairs division within the ethical standards command — said police-perpetrated DV was not surprising, given the size of the force.
“We’re a large organization of 17,000 people … it is not something that you can expect we won’t see in our organization given the size of it,” Assistant Commissioner Scanlon told the inquiry.
“There will be officers who will find themselves in a relationship that breaks down or where there are allegations of domestic violence unfortunately.
“Could we pick up some of these things earlier? I dare say we should have and could have.”
Will the inquiry lead to meaningful change?
There have been some notable absences from the public hearings, including QPS Commissioner Katarina Carroll, Queensland Police Union chief executive Ian Leavers and Police Minister Mark Ryan, yet none was asked by the inquiry to give evidence in person.
A common theme throughout the public hearings was the need for thorough and ongoing face-to-face DV training for police.
Almost 100 per cent of interviewees told Mr Ainsworth the “whole system” needs to be reviewed and streamlined to address cultural issues across the force.
Ms Taylor said her organization was calling for a domestic violence and sexual assault commissioner to ensure survivors were protected.
“I really would like to see a domestic violence and sexual assault commissioner that has an external role in not just overseeing complaints, but [also] policy advice to government, overseeing … how support is given to victims by both police and external agencies,” she said.
“The recommendations [to be handed down at the end of the inquiry] need to reflect the seriousness of what’s been heard.”
The inquiry will hand its final report to the state government in October.
In a statement, the QPS said it was committed to working with the inquiry to ensure “organizational values, standards of practice and responsibilities are being maintained and, where the opportunity arises, enhanced”.
“We are committed to strengthening and improving our response to DFV matters to ensure the service is supporting all victims and holding perpetrators to account,” a spokesperson said.
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