Stalking 'critical point of intervention' to break cycle of coercive control
Rates of coercive control in regional NSW are 60 per cent higher than the state average, according to the latest quarterly Coercive Control Monitoring report.
The Far West and Orana regions, which include the regional centres of Dubbo and Broken Hill, were the worst areas in the state for coercive control, with a rate four times higher than the state average.
The Central West, Murray and New England North West regions were not far behind, more than double the NSW average.
The report, released on June 19 by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOSCAR), found there had been 224 coercive control incidents in NSW since new laws were introduced in 2024.
Five had charges laid for coercive control and a further 91 had charges laid for other domestic and family violence offences, but not coercive control.
Thirty-four per cent of victims were in the 30-39 year age bracket and 10 per cent of victims were Aboriginal.
BOSCAR's executive director, Jackie Fitzgerald, labelled the result "unsurprising" to ACM, the publisher of this masthead.
"We know that DV is higher in the regions; that is a pretty consistent pattern in crime statistics," she said.
"It is an unfortunate element of the crime landscape in NSW."
READ MORE: Sins of the father: the link between unloving dads and domestic violence
"There is a whole range of issues in regional communities that are not as apparent in Sydney.
"Economic disadvantage, lower employment rates, educational performance, and even health outcomes, are more problematic in regional NSW."
A new offence of coercive control was introduced in NSW on July 1, 2024.
The offence relates to abusive behaviours directed towards a current or former intimate partner with the intention to coerce or control them.
Ms Fitzgerald said they were still waiting for a test case to indicate how the courts treat coercive control charges.
"Only one coercive control case has gone to court in NSW, and the person pleaded guilty," she said.
ANU criminologist Dr Hayley Boxall said it was concerning how few incidents result in formal proceedings.
"Of the 224 incidents reported by BOCSAR, 127 didn't result in any charges being laid at all," she said.
"So what's concerning for me is that we're not seeing widespread use of the new legislation yet. Police are still relying on other offences to take action, and that suggests there might be barriers to progressing coercive control charges."
"I think we really need to take a closer look at why that's happening."
The most common coercive control behaviours identified were harassment, monitoring and tracking, followed by threats or intimidation and financial abuse.
Around 60 per cent of incidents recorded multiple offences.
The most common co-occurrence offences with coercive control were intimidation and stalking, DV assault, and malicious damage.
Dr Boxall described co-occurrence offences such as stalking as a "critical point of intervention".
READ MORE: 'I was instantly homeless': Women who prepare 'go bags' to escape violence
"This is where we have a real opportunity to stop the escalation of abuse," she said.
"But when it comes to reducing coercive control more broadly, I don't think it's helpful to pull the behaviours apart too much, to say 'this bit is about property damage' or 'this bit is about intimidation'.
"We need to look at the bigger picture.
"Coercive control is about patterns - it's about the way these behaviours interact and compound over time."
Rates of coercive control in regional NSW are 60 per cent higher than the state average, according to the latest quarterly Coercive Control Monitoring report.
The Far West and Orana regions, which include the regional centres of Dubbo and Broken Hill, were the worst areas in the state for coercive control, with a rate four times higher than the state average.
The Central West, Murray and New England North West regions were not far behind, more than double the NSW average.
The report, released on June 19 by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOSCAR), found there had been 224 coercive control incidents in NSW since new laws were introduced in 2024.
Five had charges laid for coercive control and a further 91 had charges laid for other domestic and family violence offences, but not coercive control.
Thirty-four per cent of victims were in the 30-39 year age bracket and 10 per cent of victims were Aboriginal.
BOSCAR's executive director, Jackie Fitzgerald, labelled the result "unsurprising" to ACM, the publisher of this masthead.
"We know that DV is higher in the regions; that is a pretty consistent pattern in crime statistics," she said.
"It is an unfortunate element of the crime landscape in NSW."
READ MORE: Sins of the father: the link between unloving dads and domestic violence
"There is a whole range of issues in regional communities that are not as apparent in Sydney.
"Economic disadvantage, lower employment rates, educational performance, and even health outcomes, are more problematic in regional NSW."
A new offence of coercive control was introduced in NSW on July 1, 2024.
The offence relates to abusive behaviours directed towards a current or former intimate partner with the intention to coerce or control them.
Ms Fitzgerald said they were still waiting for a test case to indicate how the courts treat coercive control charges.
"Only one coercive control case has gone to court in NSW, and the person pleaded guilty," she said.
ANU criminologist Dr Hayley Boxall said it was concerning how few incidents result in formal proceedings.
"Of the 224 incidents reported by BOCSAR, 127 didn't result in any charges being laid at all," she said.
"So what's concerning for me is that we're not seeing widespread use of the new legislation yet. Police are still relying on other offences to take action, and that suggests there might be barriers to progressing coercive control charges."
"I think we really need to take a closer look at why that's happening."
The most common coercive control behaviours identified were harassment, monitoring and tracking, followed by threats or intimidation and financial abuse.
Around 60 per cent of incidents recorded multiple offences.
The most common co-occurrence offences with coercive control were intimidation and stalking, DV assault, and malicious damage.
Dr Boxall described co-occurrence offences such as stalking as a "critical point of intervention".
READ MORE: 'I was instantly homeless': Women who prepare 'go bags' to escape violence
"This is where we have a real opportunity to stop the escalation of abuse," she said.
"But when it comes to reducing coercive control more broadly, I don't think it's helpful to pull the behaviours apart too much, to say 'this bit is about property damage' or 'this bit is about intimidation'.
"We need to look at the bigger picture.
"Coercive control is about patterns - it's about the way these behaviours interact and compound over time."
Rates of coercive control in regional NSW are 60 per cent higher than the state average, according to the latest quarterly Coercive Control Monitoring report.
The Far West and Orana regions, which include the regional centres of Dubbo and Broken Hill, were the worst areas in the state for coercive control, with a rate four times higher than the state average.
The Central West, Murray and New England North West regions were not far behind, more than double the NSW average.
The report, released on June 19 by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOSCAR), found there had been 224 coercive control incidents in NSW since new laws were introduced in 2024.
Five had charges laid for coercive control and a further 91 had charges laid for other domestic and family violence offences, but not coercive control.
Thirty-four per cent of victims were in the 30-39 year age bracket and 10 per cent of victims were Aboriginal.
BOSCAR's executive director, Jackie Fitzgerald, labelled the result "unsurprising" to ACM, the publisher of this masthead.
"We know that DV is higher in the regions; that is a pretty consistent pattern in crime statistics," she said.
"It is an unfortunate element of the crime landscape in NSW."
READ MORE: Sins of the father: the link between unloving dads and domestic violence
"There is a whole range of issues in regional communities that are not as apparent in Sydney.
"Economic disadvantage, lower employment rates, educational performance, and even health outcomes, are more problematic in regional NSW."
A new offence of coercive control was introduced in NSW on July 1, 2024.
The offence relates to abusive behaviours directed towards a current or former intimate partner with the intention to coerce or control them.
Ms Fitzgerald said they were still waiting for a test case to indicate how the courts treat coercive control charges.
"Only one coercive control case has gone to court in NSW, and the person pleaded guilty," she said.
ANU criminologist Dr Hayley Boxall said it was concerning how few incidents result in formal proceedings.
"Of the 224 incidents reported by BOCSAR, 127 didn't result in any charges being laid at all," she said.
"So what's concerning for me is that we're not seeing widespread use of the new legislation yet. Police are still relying on other offences to take action, and that suggests there might be barriers to progressing coercive control charges."
"I think we really need to take a closer look at why that's happening."
The most common coercive control behaviours identified were harassment, monitoring and tracking, followed by threats or intimidation and financial abuse.
Around 60 per cent of incidents recorded multiple offences.
The most common co-occurrence offences with coercive control were intimidation and stalking, DV assault, and malicious damage.
Dr Boxall described co-occurrence offences such as stalking as a "critical point of intervention".
READ MORE: 'I was instantly homeless': Women who prepare 'go bags' to escape violence
"This is where we have a real opportunity to stop the escalation of abuse," she said.
"But when it comes to reducing coercive control more broadly, I don't think it's helpful to pull the behaviours apart too much, to say 'this bit is about property damage' or 'this bit is about intimidation'.
"We need to look at the bigger picture.
"Coercive control is about patterns - it's about the way these behaviours interact and compound over time."
Rates of coercive control in regional NSW are 60 per cent higher than the state average, according to the latest quarterly Coercive Control Monitoring report.
The Far West and Orana regions, which include the regional centres of Dubbo and Broken Hill, were the worst areas in the state for coercive control, with a rate four times higher than the state average.
The Central West, Murray and New England North West regions were not far behind, more than double the NSW average.
The report, released on June 19 by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOSCAR), found there had been 224 coercive control incidents in NSW since new laws were introduced in 2024.
Five had charges laid for coercive control and a further 91 had charges laid for other domestic and family violence offences, but not coercive control.
Thirty-four per cent of victims were in the 30-39 year age bracket and 10 per cent of victims were Aboriginal.
BOSCAR's executive director, Jackie Fitzgerald, labelled the result "unsurprising" to ACM, the publisher of this masthead.
"We know that DV is higher in the regions; that is a pretty consistent pattern in crime statistics," she said.
"It is an unfortunate element of the crime landscape in NSW."
READ MORE: Sins of the father: the link between unloving dads and domestic violence
"There is a whole range of issues in regional communities that are not as apparent in Sydney.
"Economic disadvantage, lower employment rates, educational performance, and even health outcomes, are more problematic in regional NSW."
A new offence of coercive control was introduced in NSW on July 1, 2024.
The offence relates to abusive behaviours directed towards a current or former intimate partner with the intention to coerce or control them.
Ms Fitzgerald said they were still waiting for a test case to indicate how the courts treat coercive control charges.
"Only one coercive control case has gone to court in NSW, and the person pleaded guilty," she said.
ANU criminologist Dr Hayley Boxall said it was concerning how few incidents result in formal proceedings.
"Of the 224 incidents reported by BOCSAR, 127 didn't result in any charges being laid at all," she said.
"So what's concerning for me is that we're not seeing widespread use of the new legislation yet. Police are still relying on other offences to take action, and that suggests there might be barriers to progressing coercive control charges."
"I think we really need to take a closer look at why that's happening."
The most common coercive control behaviours identified were harassment, monitoring and tracking, followed by threats or intimidation and financial abuse.
Around 60 per cent of incidents recorded multiple offences.
The most common co-occurrence offences with coercive control were intimidation and stalking, DV assault, and malicious damage.
Dr Boxall described co-occurrence offences such as stalking as a "critical point of intervention".
READ MORE: 'I was instantly homeless': Women who prepare 'go bags' to escape violence
"This is where we have a real opportunity to stop the escalation of abuse," she said.
"But when it comes to reducing coercive control more broadly, I don't think it's helpful to pull the behaviours apart too much, to say 'this bit is about property damage' or 'this bit is about intimidation'.
"We need to look at the bigger picture.
"Coercive control is about patterns - it's about the way these behaviours interact and compound over time."
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"Locking up 10-year-old kids isn't justice, it's a failure of policy and compassion." Deaths in custody and high incarceration rates were not accidents but outcomes of a system that needed deep systemic change, including eliminating racism in police, courts and corrections, he said. All states and territories have introduced crime crackdowns after spates of violence and lawlessness, largely involving young people. In Queensland, children as young as 10 will face adult jail time for a range of new offences after the state government in May passed its second tranche of controversial youth crime laws. The NT government recently passed tougher bail laws, which are expected to lead to a surge in the territory's prison population, including more Indigenous youth inmates. 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14 An Indigenous death in custody case is being closely watched by the federal government after a territory leader vigorously opposed an independent inquiry. Senator Malarndirri McCarthy said ahead of a meeting of the Joint Council on Closing the Gap in Darwin that deaths in custody had to end and the Commonwealth was deeply concerned about the issue. The federal minister for Indigenous Australians said there could be heated debate over deaths in custody and harsher youth crime laws as she met with state and territory counterparts and Coalition of Peaks members on Friday. The coalition represents more than 80 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community bodies comprising about 800 organisations and is a formal partner with Australian governments on Closing the Gap. Friday's meeting follows the death in custody of Kumanjayi White on May 27 after being forcibly restrained by two plain clothes officers inside a supermarket in Alice Springs. Police allege the 24-year-old, who had a mental disability and was in care, was shoplifting and assaulted a security guard. Despite multiple calls for an independent inquiry, NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro and acting police commissioner Martin Dole rejected the proposal, saying NT Police were the best to investigate the death. Senator McCarthy has been among those calling for an independent inquiry. When asked on Friday if the federal government might intervene and convene a national cabinet on the issue, she said "we are watching very closely". Prime Minister Anthony Albanese would be briefed on the Closing the Gap meeting and its debates on deaths in custody, high Indigenous incarceration rates and tougher youth crime laws, she said. Federal Attorney-General Michelle Rowland was also deeply concerned about deaths in custody and would discuss the issue at an upcoming meeting with state and territory counterparts, the senator said. Scott Wilson, the acting lead convenor of the Coalition of Peaks, said outcomes for Indigenous people were improved when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations were properly resourced. "On the issue of youth justice and child protection, our kids are harmed by the system that should protect them," he said. The coalition wants a national strategy to address the drivers of youth detention and high number of Indigenous children in out-of-home care. "That is poverty, unstable housing, racism and lack of access to services," Mr Wilson said. "Locking up 10-year-old kids isn't justice, it's a failure of policy and compassion." Deaths in custody and high incarceration rates were not accidents but outcomes of a system that needed deep systemic change, including eliminating racism in police, courts and corrections, he said. All states and territories have introduced crime crackdowns after spates of violence and lawlessness, largely involving young people. In Queensland, children as young as 10 will face adult jail time for a range of new offences after the state government in May passed its second tranche of controversial youth crime laws. The NT government recently passed tougher bail laws, which are expected to lead to a surge in the territory's prison population, including more Indigenous youth inmates. 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14 An Indigenous death in custody case is being closely watched by the federal government after a territory leader vigorously opposed an independent inquiry. Senator Malarndirri McCarthy said ahead of a meeting of the Joint Council on Closing the Gap in Darwin that deaths in custody had to end and the Commonwealth was deeply concerned about the issue. The federal minister for Indigenous Australians said there could be heated debate over deaths in custody and harsher youth crime laws as she met with state and territory counterparts and Coalition of Peaks members on Friday. The coalition represents more than 80 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community bodies comprising about 800 organisations and is a formal partner with Australian governments on Closing the Gap. Friday's meeting follows the death in custody of Kumanjayi White on May 27 after being forcibly restrained by two plain clothes officers inside a supermarket in Alice Springs. Police allege the 24-year-old, who had a mental disability and was in care, was shoplifting and assaulted a security guard. Despite multiple calls for an independent inquiry, NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro and acting police commissioner Martin Dole rejected the proposal, saying NT Police were the best to investigate the death. Senator McCarthy has been among those calling for an independent inquiry. When asked on Friday if the federal government might intervene and convene a national cabinet on the issue, she said "we are watching very closely". Prime Minister Anthony Albanese would be briefed on the Closing the Gap meeting and its debates on deaths in custody, high Indigenous incarceration rates and tougher youth crime laws, she said. Federal Attorney-General Michelle Rowland was also deeply concerned about deaths in custody and would discuss the issue at an upcoming meeting with state and territory counterparts, the senator said. Scott Wilson, the acting lead convenor of the Coalition of Peaks, said outcomes for Indigenous people were improved when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations were properly resourced. "On the issue of youth justice and child protection, our kids are harmed by the system that should protect them," he said. The coalition wants a national strategy to address the drivers of youth detention and high number of Indigenous children in out-of-home care. "That is poverty, unstable housing, racism and lack of access to services," Mr Wilson said. "Locking up 10-year-old kids isn't justice, it's a failure of policy and compassion." Deaths in custody and high incarceration rates were not accidents but outcomes of a system that needed deep systemic change, including eliminating racism in police, courts and corrections, he said. All states and territories have introduced crime crackdowns after spates of violence and lawlessness, largely involving young people. In Queensland, children as young as 10 will face adult jail time for a range of new offences after the state government in May passed its second tranche of controversial youth crime laws. The NT government recently passed tougher bail laws, which are expected to lead to a surge in the territory's prison population, including more Indigenous youth inmates. 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14
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a day ago
- ABC News
'Quasi-policing powers' for new armed NT police public safety officers spark concern
A plan to equip Northern Territory transit and public housing safety officers with "quasi-policing powers", including to carry guns on buses, in supermarkets and public housing, has been slammed as a "deeply irresponsible escalation" that could put lives at risk. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the name of an Indigenous person who has died, used with the permission of their family. The newly announced police public safety officers (PPSOs) are set to replace police auxiliaries, transit safety officers and public housing safety officers in the territory next year, as frontline responders to violence and aggression in public places. Announcing the measure at a press conference on Wednesday, Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said the NT's 56 existing public housing safety and transit safety officers would be retrained under police command to join police auxiliaries in the new expanded PPSO role. Ms Finocchiaro said the role would enable the government to provide "consistent training, consistent powers and consistent responses to antisocial behaviour in public places". NT Police Assistant Commissioner James O'Brien said the exact powers PPSOs would have had not yet been finalised, but confirmed they would carry firearms. "They'll have full police powers whilst also adjusting to include those under the Housing Act and also the Public Transport Act," he said. He said the change would enable police to better address alcohol-related offending later in the day. "If we deal with alcohol early all the way throughout our housing estates, all throughout our bus networks and our shopping centres, then we have less crime later in the afternoon," he said. Under existing laws, public housing safety officers, transit safety officers and police auxiliaries each have different powers. Transit officers can use oleoresin capsicum spray (pepper spray) and arrest, detain, forcibly remove or direct people to leave, while on buses or around bus stops and stations. Public housing safety officers can seize alcohol and direct people to leave premises or ban them for up to 12 months if they are engaging in criminal or "antisocial" behaviour. Under the Police Administration Act, police auxiliaries have the same powers as police, including to carry firearms and tasers, but unlike constables, they generally perform more administrative roles, including as liquor inspectors outside bottle shops. The Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance of the NT (AMSANT) condemned the decision as a "deeply irresponsible escalation that will place more lives at risk", including people experiencing mental health episodes or living with disabilities. Chief executive John Paterson said the PPSO role would entail "quasi-policing powers" and called the measure a "kneejerk, ideological response" that could lead to more deaths in custody, following the death of Kumanjayi White. Mr White, a 24-year-old Warlpiri man who lived with disabilities, died last month after being restrained by two plain-clothed police officers on the floor of an Alice Springs supermarket. Since the incident, several prominent First Nations organisations have described a breakdown in trust between First Nations people and the NT Police Force. In relation to the decision to arm more officers, Mr Paterson said: "Are we fast becoming the 51st state of the USA? I mean that's what it's starting to look like — Trumpism in the territory." "We're calling on the territory government to sit down with the relevant leadership — I'm talking right across all sectors — and let's work out evidence-based, meaningful responses, services and programs that are going to make the territory a place people would want to come and live," he said. David Villegas, the NT regional secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), which represents transit safety and public housing safety officers, said one of the main reasons those roles existed was to minimise contact between Indigenous people and the police force. Mr Villegas said none of the officers nor the union had been given prior notice that their roles would change and many were concerned. "There's been a lot of pushback, a lot of concern, they don't have any information," he said. '[There's] a lot of frustration, a lot of members telling us they don't want to move to the police." The NT government has said it will enact a "grandfathering" arrangement for any transit safety or public housing safety officers who do not wish to transition to the PPSO role. The NT Police Association, which represents police auxiliaries, also said it had received limited detail on the proposal before its announcement. Both unions said they expected to be briefed by the government in coming weeks. PPSOs are set to start training in December and begin in their roles in early 2026.
