Kimberley Magistrate Colin Roberts claims majority of domestic violence attacks go unpunished by system

A magistrate says the criminal justice system is sending the terrible message it is OK to “bash your missus”, with at least 80 per cent of family violence trials in the Kimberley dropped by police because victims are too scared or disillusioned to give evidence. Magistrate Colin Roberts — who said in July that domestic violence had become a “national sport” in the region — told Kununurra Court last week that lawyers were now advising their clients to plead not guilty because of the high chance witnesses would not turn up to court. His comments came after prosecutor Sgt Neil Berkley discontinued a matter because the witness was adamant she would not go to court. Magistrate Roberts told the court pressure from family and the accused, whom the victim may want to stay in a relationship with, prevented disadvantaged victims from feeling confident enough to testify against their abusers. He said this resulted in 80 per cent of domestic violence cases — and perhaps as high as 90 per cent — being discontinued. “Are politicians and everyone aware of the figures? 80 per cent, I would suggest it would be even closer to 90 per cent the way it has been going,” he said. “Absolutely shocking. I’m tearing my hair out. And unfortunately, any suggestions of arrest warrants for witnesses, the police, rightly or wrongly, say they don’t want to go down that road. “There has got to be a better system. The system is wrong. Absolutely wrong. And you can’t blame the lawyers for giving advice.” Sgt Berkley said police were not willing to issue warrants for witnesses to appear as it would cause victims to be less likely to call them when they were in trouble. “It would only take somebody to... for the worst possible thing to happen, where there will be that much criticism to the police that they’re not prepared to take that path,” he said. “And that’s one of the reasons (fellow Kununurra police prosecutor) Sgt Smith and I take it upon ourselves to go and speak to these people and try and tell them about the court system... by coming to court and giving evidence — if you want to continue a relationship... you’re saying to them, ‘Don’t hit me, because I’m not putting up with it’. “But the people that don’t come, we explain that to them as well... Sergeant Smith and I have been doing that. “People insisting upon not coming to court, and I’ve had comments that ‘if you make me go to court, I will tell them I don’t remember’ and things like that.” Magistrate Roberts said in July the issue had almost become a national sport for the Kimberley and had seen “so many” jealousy-related cases of drunken family violence come past his courtroom. “It’s almost like it’s a national sport ... people in this community get on the grog and start testing each other on jealousy issues,” he said at the time. Family violence incidents in the Kimberley occur at nine times the rate than any other region in WA. One in two Aboriginal women also report be subject to domestic violence, compared to a quarter of non-Indigenous women. Aboriginal Family Law Services chief executive Corina Martin said the WA Government should follow the Northern Territory’s lead and make it mandatory for police attending domestic violence incidents to wear body-worn cameras, the result being victims wouldn’t have to give evidence in court. “As a FDV legal service provider and community advocacy organisation, we encourage the WA government to consider changes to their Evidence Act, following the Northern Territory governments lead.” she said. “In 2018 the Northern Territory Government amended their Evidence Act, introducing mandatory requirement for police officers to have body worn cameras on their persons when responding to domestic violence calls. “The footage captured on the cameras are then is used as evidence in chief, thereby bypassing the need to have witnesses physically give evidence. “This is just another way in which the judicial system can begin to support and protect victims, encouraging them to not withdraw their complaint.” The McGowan Government unveiled new family violence law reforms in November in a bid to stop the “epidemic” of family violence in WA. It came just two months after Attorney-General John Quigley’s landmark decision to give Kimberley woman Jody Gore mercy and free her from serving a life sentence for murdering her abusive ex-partner. Under the reforms, perpetrators who commit three or more acts of family violence against the same partner within 10 years could be charged by police and jailed for up to 14 years. Prevention of family and domestic violence minister Simone McGurk said discussions with Aboriginal advocates raised the need for a different approach to the recently introduced Family Violence Legislation Reform Bill. “The rates of family and domestic violence in the community are unacceptably high and the State Government is determined to send a very clear message - violence is never OK,” she said. “With two new specific criminal offences - suffocation and strangulation, and persistent family violence - set to become operational next month, more than ever, the justice system has critical measures in place to ensure it is being responsive to family violence matters. “We have committed to work with Aboriginal advocates on an Aboriginal family safety strategy.” An Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for Western Australia spokeswoman said even in the cases conducted by the ODPP, statistics of the rate of trials of a particular offence being discontinued regionally or WA wide are not kept.