Victorian government considers expanding police powers to issue permanent bans on family violence perpetrators

Victorian police minister Anthony Carbines says the government is considering expanding police powers to try to better protect victims of family violence. (ABC News)

Police powers in Victoria may be expanded in an effort to crack down on family violence perpetrators.

The state government has confirmed it is in discussions with Victoria Police about strengthening family violence safety notices, a police-issued order that temporarily bans a perpetrator from interacting with a victim-survivor for 14 days.

Under the police proposal, officers will have the power to serve perpetrators with an “enduring” or permanent family violence safety notice.

Police say this will spare victims the need to go to court to get a family violence intervention order.

The government says the measure may better protect victim-survivors, help hold perpetrators to account and spare victims having to go to court to secure permanent protection.

On Saturday, Police Minister Anthony Carbines said the chief commissioner of Victoria Police briefed the premier and other ministers on a “range of options”.

Mr Carbines said Victoria Police issued an average of 31 family violence safety notices every day.

“If there’s an opportunity here to ensure Victoria Police can have enduring family violence safety notices that don’t expire after 14 days, that don’t drive victims to face court and provide immediate and long term safety, then we need to consider that,” he said.

The expansion of police power would require changing the current legislation, he said, but at the heart of the reform would need to be “the thoughts and the needs of victims”.

Mr Carbines said there were 17,500 breaches of family violence safety notices and intervention orders every year.

Jail penalties for breaching the orders range from two to five years.

Mr Carbines said some perpetrators deliberately made it hard for police to find them, which could endanger victims in the period between the 14-day safety notice and the court-issued intervention order.

“Police then have to track down the perpetrator who often avoids service and victims are often in danger until that’s done,” he said.

“What we’re looking to do is close those loopholes.”

The Victorian Opposition has indicated it is open to the reform, with Deputy Opposition leader David Southwick saying the government needs to explore everything possible.

“It’s clear that things aren’t working at the moment,” he said.

Asked about South Australia’s recent introduction of ankle monitors for perpetrators, Mr Southwick said the government should look at what was working in other jurisdictions.

Reform could spare victims from a traumatising court process

A Victoria Police spokesperson said on Saturday the proposed reform would enable police to issue perpetrators with a immediate long-lasting protection and help them avoid any trauma confronting a perpetrator in court.

Victoria Police said it issued around 11,500 family violence safety notices last year.

Family violence service Berry Street said it was supportive of the potential reform because it would mean victim-survivors could be spared “onerous, unnecessary” court processes.

“Asking someone who has just experienced an act of family violence that requires a police response to then go back to court and ask to be protected again is unacceptable,” acting chief executive Jenny McNaughton said.

“The reform would give victim-survivors a greater sense of safety while holding perpetrators accountable for their behaviour.

“The reform would also free up courts who are inundated with victim-survivors seeking intervention orders.”

Ms McNaughton said police providing permanent family violence safety notices was a necessary step in reforming Victoria’s justice system to deal with family violence offenders whose acts of violence often lasted over months and years.

But she said the changes should occur in consultation with those with lived experience of family violence.

Victim-survivor Anna Coutts-Trotter, who runs peer support organisation Survivor Hub in NSW and Victoria, said the court process could be “incredibly re-traumatising”.

“I welcome any measures that prevent people from having to go through that experience, particularly if it’s not something that they want to do,” she said.

“For some survivors, court is something that they want to do but for many it’s not.

“It’s exhausting. You have your life and all of the decisions you’ve made torn apart.”