WA government struggles with pledge to electronically track repeat domestic violence offenders

ABC NEWS (Australia)

WA's police union says its members have become increasingly concerned about the effectiveness of the Justice Department's electronic monitoring regime, used to track high-risk offenders. Concerns have been raised about the inability to track regional domestic violence offenders, but the union claims the issues are more widespread.

Transcript

00:00Two weeks ago, when the ABC revealed the Justice Department's admission in a Bunbury court

00:07that it can't monitor people in regional areas, Roger Cook's solution was simple.

00:11Quite frankly, if the courts cannot make an arrangement whereby an accused serial domestic violence offender

00:20cannot be properly monitored, they need to be put behind bars.

00:24He's now suggesting the solution may not be so straightforward.

00:27Everyone's getting used to the systems, the limitations of the systems, the strengths of the systems

00:33and working together to get those systems working better.

00:36That's despite a two-year trial of the electronic ankle bracelets before the laws took effect in December.

00:42But there have been teething problems, including mobile phone black spots in regional areas

00:46and insufficient departmental staff.

00:49The police union has its own concerns, claiming it can take the Justice Department up to 12 hours

00:54to issue arrest warrants for GPS breaches.

00:57It's the risk to the community.

00:59Police are hamstrung in bringing these people back into custody, purely because of process.

01:04Police sit alongside corrections officers at the State Operations Centre

01:09and they work together literally shoulder to shoulder in that room, understanding, monitoring all these people.

01:16The union claims police in regional areas are also being relied on for routine maintenance of GPS devices,

01:23which they say should be the department's responsibility.

01:26The time for action is now.

01:28Not to kick this can down the road for another six weeks, another eight weeks.

01:32The Department of Justice didn't respond directly to the ABC's questions about the police union's concerns,

01:38but it did point to the State Government's promise of a further 12 full-time positions for GPS monitoring in its upcoming budget.

01:46You will see the police union's concerns.

01:48I've seen an ongoing commission with our parents,

01:49which has a few times in the past three days and a few times from that possibly.

01:52The department of Justice and Justice will be the partner of a more organisation but also пожалуйable.

01:54The department of Justice and Justice, Database,

02:00is a Great-Songer of Justice and Justice,

02:02which is a fair honourable part of the team.

02:04You will see the department of Justice,

02:07which is the department of Justice,

02:09which is the department of Justice.

02:11You need to be the department of Justice,

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