Do Police Need To Follow The NRL’s Lead On Domestic Violence?

It was recently reported that 84 officers serving in the Queensland police force have been accused of domestic violence in the last five years. This news has shocked people — but not as much as discovering that some of those officers are still on the force.

It’s raised questions about how women can trust police to take their complaints seriously — let alone protect them from violent partners — if some of their own exhibit the same behaviour.

Whether it’s fair or not, there is a perception in the community that police don’t do enough to help victims of domestic violence. In fact, around 80% of women with violent partners do not contact police.

In an ideal world police are held to the highest possible standard, but right now there’s no guarantee that officers with DV complaints made against them will be stood down.

Data shows that false accusations are incredibly rare, and many organisations have adopted zero tolerance policies towards domestic violence — in what might come as a surprise given their history, the NRL is one of them.

So how did a testosterone-fuelled national sporting body come to have a lower tolerance than the force employed to protect us?

How Many Officers Have Faced Allegations?

As first reported by The Guardian, in the last five years there have been 84 serving officers accused of domestic violence in Queensland.

“While the QPS takes a strong stance in the fight against domestic and family violence, we recognise that our people are part of the community and some are respondents in [domestic violence] matters,” a spokesperson said.

Over the same period in Tasmania three officers were charged with family violence-related offences, and 12 were named as respondents on family violence orders.

In the Northern Territory 22 have been accused since 2015, but only two were convicted in court — both were sacked.

The two DV instances I have been aware of both involved violent police partners.

Sad abuse of power that reflects poorly on the entire force.

— Rikki Andrews (@rikkitweets) March 2, 2020

And we wonder why women can’t get protection.

— Alpheus Williams (@AlphWilliams) March 2, 2020

Both Victoria Police and South Australia Police refused to provide data without a formal Freedom of Information request, and Western Australian police did not respond before deadline.

In a statement the Queensland Police Service argued the number of police respondents are considerably lower than the general population.

“The QPS has over 12,200 police officers … this equates to 0.68% of police officers and recruits being recorded as a respondent on domestic violence orders. Compared to the general population, police officers are 85% less likely to be recorded as a respondent on a domestic violence order.

“The strong discipline and oversight regimes of the QPS results in police officers being 95% less likely to commit a breach of domestic violence order when compared to the general population.”

But the issue is not so much about how many officers have been accused of DV, as it is about how they handle those officers who are — and patting yourself on the back because they’re less likely to breach a violence order misses the point entirely.

Imagine all of the cases not reported – fear.

— James Dunstan (@snowycats) March 2, 2020

How Do They Handle Accusations Against Their Own?

Basically, if an officer is found guilty of a DV charge the outcomes can range from absolutely nothing happening, to the officer being fired.

However police organisations emphasised they take family violence very seriously, and do nothing to compromise investigations.

“The QPS puts plans in place to appropriately manage or support any members who are known to have been involved in domestic and family violence incidents,” the QPS said.

Imagine if the NRL “managed” and “supported” DV accused and let the keep playing? … but hey it’s not like victims rely on police and have a right to expect they, you know, aren’t abusers themselves https://t.co/zGVM4axSyT

— Ben Smee (@BenSmee) March 2, 2020

SAPOL said any complaints are assessed internally with oversight by the Office of Public Integrity.

Victoria Police said if an officer is found guilty a disciplinary process which “can include consideration of their ongoing employment” is undertaken.

“While a police officer is under investigation, Victoria Police considers a range of options relating to the officer’s role and functions, including transfer to other duties and suspension with or without pay.  Action taken depends on the nature of the allegation and risk,” a spokesperson said.

In Tasmania if the matter is “serious” the officer maybe suspended from duty for the period of the investigation. Any officer who has an order taken out against them is automatically made non-operational for the duration of the order, due to the firearms restriction it requires. However, the officer can return to active duty if they successfully get a court to remove the firearm restriction from the order.

In the NT officers can be moved to a non-operational areas or suspended during inquiries if “conduct warrants preventative action”.

WA Police did not respond to requests for comment before deadline.

Police Face Questions From Victims

Despite the fact that a quarter of people believe women exaggerate male violence (and 43% believe women lie about it to get an edge in custody proceedings), false accusations are incredibly rare.

However, a series of high profile incidents have called into question how seriously police take these accusations. One case was that of Neil Punchard, a senior constable who was convicted of leaking a DV victim’s address to her abusive former partner.

“She will be pissed … Even better just tell her you know where she lives and leave it at that. Lol. She will flip,” Punchard texted the man.

After admitting to leaking her details Punchard’s pay was docked, but it was only after a campaign by the victim and intense public pressure that he was stood down and charged. Police have resisted calls to sack him, and he’s currently suspended on full pay while appealing his sentence.

In another case a woman in Tasmania temporarily stopped reporting her violent husband to police because she found they were “dismissive or insensitive” on many occasions.

One Queensland woman had to hire her own lawyer and bring charges against her abusive former partner because police told her “there was a low level of public interest” in them pursuing the case for her.

Her abuser eventually pled guilty to dousing her with petrol and threatening to burn her house down. A court hearing was told that officers refused to cooperate with the woman’s case until her legal team complained to the police commissioner.

“I had heard so many harrowing accounts from DV survivors and so many instances of the Queensland police failing to take DV victims seriously, failing to bring criminal charges to make perpetrators accountable, and failing to keep women and children safe that I felt I really had no choice but to carry on,” she said.

What Is The NRL Policy?

The NRL doesn’t have a great track record; in 2018 five of their players faced charges of sexual assault and domestic violence.

In the past they have welcomed back players with open arms after violent incidents — one of the most egregious cases of this was Matthew Lodge, who was re-signed to the Brisbane Broncos after a 2015 incident where he physically harassed a woman on a New York street and told her “this is the night you’re going to die”. When she rang the intercom of a stranger’s house for help he forced his way inside and repeatedly punched the man who lived there, while his family hid in the bathroom.

But last year, finally, Australian Rugby League announced a new “no-fault stand down” policy for players charged with serious criminal offences.

It means anyone charged with a serious offence is not allowed to play, although he can still train.

At the time the ARL Commission chairman Peter Beattie said the policy was about setting a standard for the sport, and was not a judgement on a players guilt or innocence.

“This is not about being popular, this is about sending a clear message the game does not tolerate violence, against women or children,” he said.

“We need to work on the cultural change. We’ve got to prevent this happening in the first place.

“This is about a standard that’s expected.”

We Should Expect The Highest Standards

We should be able to demand the highest standards from the institutions who are supposed to protect us — after all, those institutions are only as strong as the trust we place in them.

The police aren’t like any other workforce — in 2018 NSW police responded to 71,450 incidents of domestic violence in the one year. That’s almost 200 a day.

It’s not unreasonable to want a guarantee that the officers dealing with those cases aren’t respondents in domestic violence cases themselves.

For many the police are a vital resource, as they should be. But a study into the response of NSW police to domestic violence found the majority of victims didn’t bother going to police because there was a perception “police either lacked understanding or were not sufficiently proactive”.

That perception is everything when you’re looking for somewhere to turn when leaving a violent partner.

So if police are serious about tackling domestic violence, it’s not just men’s behaviour they need to change; it’s their own.

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If you need support, 1800 Respect is available 24 hours for people impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence and abuse. Contact them on 1800 737 732.