The daughter of a domestic violence murder victim says Queensland women are being forced to play a “Russian roulette” game to see if they will get the proper support from the police.
Key points:
- Doreen Langham was murdered by her ex-partner in January 2021
- Mrs. Langham called for help from the police many times during the weeks leading up to her death
- Queensland deputy coroner found police general response “insufficient”
Shayne Probert said at 7:30 a.m. her mother Doreen Langham called for help from 16 different police officers during the two weeks before she was murdered by her ex-partner in February last year.
“It’s pretty scary to see that he had exposed almost everything to them and they still ruled it out,” he said.
“You are playing Russian roulette to see if you will get a good police officer or not.
“If things had changed, Mom could be here today.”
The Queensland assistant coroner gave the findings last month on the deaths of Mrs Langham and also of Hannah Clarke and her three children.
The daughters of Doreen Langham, Shayne Probert and Tabitha Bleys. (ABC News: Tara Cassidy)
Both cases, committed one year apart, had similarities.
Separate partners used fire to kill and then committed suicide.
Domestic violence criminologist Assistant Professor Kerry Carrington said there is also a worrying issue about the Queensland Police Service’s response to these cases.
Support for domestic and domestic violence:
“In short, they are not prepared. The Queensland police response to victims and survivors of domestic violence does not meet community expectations and minimum standards,” he said at 7:30 p.m.
Professor Carrington, of the University of the Sunshine Coast, had special access to the entire coronary record on Mrs. Langham’s death and has followed Hannah Clarke’s investigation.
He said both cases highlighted the “absolute failure” of successive Queensland governments in listening to women.
“It’s more than urgent, it’s been urgent for decades,” he said.
“They misinterpreted their strength”
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Assistant coroner Jane Bentley found in Mrs Langham’s case that the general police response was “insufficient”, “she did not take even the most basic measures” to arrest the man who threatened her life and indicated “a serious lack of training.”
Ms Bentley said Queensland police missed repeated opportunities for intervention, which would probably have prevented the deaths of Mrs Langham and her former partner Gary Hely.
And while she found it unlikely that police could have prevented the deaths of Hannah Clarke and her family, she noted that police had not properly assessed the risk to the children and lost vital opportunities to support the husband. separated from Mrs. Clarke, Rowan Baxter, responsible.
Queensland Attorney General Shannon Fentiman said the state government would carefully consider the deputy forensic recommendations, including funding a lawsuit to create a specialized victim-centered police station and to fund the incorporation of specialized social workers at each Logan district police station. , south of Brisbane.
Hannah Clarke and her three children, Aaliyah, Laianah and Trey. (AAP: Department of Justice)
The Queensland government also plans to introduce legislation to criminalize coercive control, an issue that Ms. Clarke’s parents have been campaigning for.
Professor Carrington said that while these new laws are welcome and significant, police training also needs to be improved, as Mrs Langham’s case reveals “systemic problems”.
Body camera images presented in the investigation show a police officer refusing to take a domestic violence order despite Ms Langham describing how she felt “physically ill” by threats from her ex-partner to kill and her harassing rain of text messages.
“I don’t see you being hurt, it looks calm, it looks happy,” shows the body camera the police officer told Ms. Langham on Feb. 7 last year, two weeks before her death. 49 year old man.
“And, unfortunately for you, this is bad because we have to prove beyond any reasonable doubt that domestic violence has occurred.”
Kerry Carrington says the police response to victims of domestic violence “is well below the community’s minimum expectations.” (ABC News: Michael Lloyd)
The officer is now facing internal disciplinary action for failing to properly investigate Ms. Langham’s case.
“They [the police officer] they misapplied the law, misunderstood their role under the domestic violence law, ”Professor Carrington said.
“Doreen Langham didn’t fit into the ideal type of victim, which is, you know, someone who has physical bruises, someone who has been in hospitals, someone who acts like an unfortunate victim and needs to be rescued.
“She was a strong, resilient woman, who didn’t want to present herself like that. But they misinterpreted her strength.”
“Inadequate training and acute staff shortages”
Doreen Langham’s former partner had a criminal record of harassment, assault and domestic violence in NSW. (Supplied)
The assistant coroner noted that none of the police officers who handled Mrs Langham’s complaints searched a database in New South Wales, which would have revealed that her ex-partner Hely had a criminal record. harassment, assault, and a history of domestic violence against other women.
He found that “none of these agents acted maliciously and their inadequate response was the result of inadequate training and an acute staff shortage.”
Shayne Probert agrees that demands on police officers can be overwhelming.
“Those poor officers who are on the front lines and facing, you know, 40% of the domestic violence throughout their daily work, should have the support behind them,” he said.
“It’s unfair for the police who they’re dealing with day in and day out, but it’s also very unfair for the community that expects these police officers to help them.”
Queensland Deputy Police Commissioner Brian Codd accepted that there were systemic failures in Mrs Langham’s case.
“There’s no way to avoid it: you can’t have so many failure points in a scenario without having a good system exam,” he said.
Queensland Deputy Police Commissioner Brian Codd says there were systemic failures in the Doreen Langham case. (ABC News: Chris Gillette)
The deputy commissioner said the police service had hired external partners and experts for training in domestic violence.
“We have already started a series of activities that broadly encompass what we believe is the future of responding to and hopefully preventing domestic violence, which is an integrated service and multidisciplinary centers,” he said.
“But we [also] recognizing that the police are not the only entity in this space, and in fact we are sometimes limited; sometimes we are a forceful instrument that deals with very, very complex and complicated social problems. “
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