Page 3572 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 12 October 1994
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Ms Szuty made a point about bail in domestic violence situations. This is an issue that the Community Law Reform Committee is looking at in relation to its review of domestic violence. I can report on some discussions I have had with the chair, Mr Justice Higgins. What is emerging is that the problem is not so much with granting bail when people are arrested for breach of domestic violence matters; it is the fact that people seem to be rarely arrested for those matters. We have done a lot of good work in changing police culture in the Australian Federal Police, and the Australian Federal Police have done a lot of good work. The Australian Federal Police now, generally, use arrest as a mechanism of last resort. They are far more likely to proceed by way of summons or the voluntary attendance of court scheme - all of these measures falling short of arrest. That is a very good thing. Again, the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody said that overuse of arrest where there are alternative mechanisms of bringing a person before a court is to be discouraged. Police, the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, and a range of commentators on criminal law say that it is a very good thing if police are minimising the use of the arrest power and maximising the use of voluntary attendance at court, or proceeding by way of summons.
There does seem to be an issue emerging, in that we are markedly different from other States in the extent to which we use the arrest power for domestic violence. I do not think the problem is that in those cases where there is an arrest we are being over liberal with bail. The arrest cases have probably been confined to the most serious cases. But it does seem that there are many cases in the ACT where in any other State there would be an arrest, but in the ACT police are proceeding by way of voluntary attendance at court or a summons. It is a matter that, as I say, is emerging from the work that the Community Law Reform Committee is doing. It is a matter that the Chief Police Officer is very conscious of. He is discussing it with the Community Law Reform Committee and measures, principally in terms of education and training in the Australian Federal Police rather than law reform, are being developed to address this.
Ms Szuty, quite properly, raised the concern we all share about protection of survivors of domestic violence. I think the problem is not so much the legislative form. In fact, there is no problem that bail is being denied in appropriate circumstances where there has been an arrest, but it does seem that we are relatively light in using the arrest powers. Generally, that is a very good thing and indicates a police force that is properly reluctant to use a power of arrest when it has lesser powers available to it; but it may be that we need to be a little bit careful about not sending the right signal in domestic violence cases, and perhaps powers of arrest should be used a little more frequently in a domestic violence circumstance to send that firm message.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Bill agreed to in principle.
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