- Exclusive
- National
- NSW
- Domestic violence
The one change quietly lifting domestic violence convictions in NSW
By Perry Duffin
Conviction rates for domestic violence abusers are stubbornly low compared with other crimes in NSW – but one small shift in the law a decade ago has quietly driven up guilty verdicts in the notoriously difficult prosecutions.
NSW introduced laws in 2014 allowing police to record victims’ statements and play them as evidence in court. Researchers say the “victim-centric” changes are working.
NSW Police making an arrest in Redfern as part of anti-domestic violence Operation Amarok in July. Hundreds are now before the courts as part of the crackdown.Credit: NSW Police
The study from the University of Sydney and the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, released on Wednesday, found cases with prerecorded evidence increased convictions at trial by 5.6 percentage points and led to guilty pleas in more cases by 2.4 percentage points.
Prosecutors were also 2.4 percentage points less likely to withdraw the case, the research reveals.
Domestic violence cases with prerecorded evidence had a 77 per cent conviction rate in 2015-18, while cases without the recordings had a 73.6 per cent conviction rate, the study found. By comparison, non-domestic violence cases had a 92 per cent conviction rate.
The numbers do not sound overwhelming but domestic violence accounts for thousands of cases in NSW every year, and researchers found recorded evidence could reduce the “emotional burden” on victims.
“DV prosecutions ... often fail because victims, after reporting DV to police, decline to give evidence,” the study notes.
“This is partly responsible for the relatively low conviction rate in cases of DV when compared to other types of violent crime.”
University of Sydney researcher Steve Yeong.
Courts and legal practitioners found victims’ video testimony more accurate because it is recorded soon after the incident, not months or years later in the badly delayed courts.
Police and prosecutors found video evidence gave them more leverage to convince offenders to plead guilty, and made it less likely victims would recant their evidence – a constant issue in domestic violence cases.
Vulnerable victims, in such cases, would most likely spend less time being questioned in the intimidating and often adversarial courtroom in front of their abusers.
Lead researcher, Steve Yeong, said domestic violence was one of the last unsolved policy problems in justice.
NSW Police had approached Yeong and BOCSAR’s Suzanne Poynton to carry out the research, hoping to see how the change in the law had impacted the statistics.
“I would like NSW Police to continue to implement approaches that take victim experience into account when combating domestic violence,” Yeong said.
The new research noted domestic violence affects one in four women. Both PwC and KPMG have calculated it costs the country $22 billion a year.
NSW Police have in recent months stepped up their anti-domestic violence efforts targeting “high-risk” individuals and repeat offenders.
The third iteration of its Operation Amarok, in July, arrested 500 people and laid more than 1000 charges in just three days across NSW.
At the time, Police Minister Yasmin Catley described domestic violence as an “epidemic” of underreported crime, and Deputy Commissioner Mal Lanyon said half of the state’s murders were domestic violence-related.
“This type of offending is violent, confronting, and targeted,” Lanyon said.
The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.