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A former police officer of 30 years and leading criminologist has revealed his no-nonsense solutions to Australia’s domestic violence epidemic.
Dr Vincent Hurley, who was a New South Wales police officer and negotiator for 30 years, is a university lecturer in policing at Macquarie University in Sydney.
He, like millions of Australians, is increasingly fed up with the government’s lack of action to combat the country’s domestic violence crisis.
The rate of women killed by an intimate partner, all of them men, saw a nearly 30 percent increase in 2022-23 compared to the previous year.
Earlier this week, the Albanese government announced an investment of $925 million to establish the Stop Violence Program over the next five years.
Women fleeing violent or abusive relationships will receive payments of $5,000 as part of the package.
Those eligible will receive $1,500 in cash and another $3,500 in goods and services, which will be indexed in the coming years.
Federal, state and territory police ministers, as well as attorneys-general, will work to improve police responses to high-risk or serial perpetrators of violence against women.
The national cabinet agreed to greater sharing of information between jurisdictions about perpetrators.
Meanwhile, a new online advertising campaign challenging misogynistic stereotypes perpetuated on the internet will launch from mid-June to May 2025.
But Hurley says more is needed.
She shared her recommendations on how victims of domestic violence can be better supported and even saved, and her powerful message to young women in Australia.
Dr Vincent Hurley, who was a New South Wales police officer and negotiator for 30 years, is a university lecturer in policing at Macquarie University in Sydney.
Bail conditions
Dr Hurley said bail should be “flatly refused” to domestic violence offenders to allow their victims vital respite after a crime.
He admitted that police could do little to keep perpetrators behind bars and that magistrates often ruled that rules had not been met to deny bail.
“If I were to arrest you for stealing, I have to make sure there were certain elements to that crime before I can arrest you,” he said.
‘But with domestic violence, that’s not the case. It used to be that you could arrest someone for domestic violence with the slightest evidence.
When Dr Hurley first joined the police in 1981, criminals who committed armed robberies were usually refused bail due to the risk of further violence.
“Now we have a case that is worse than an armed robbery because the women are being murdered, but they have the right to bail,” he said.
“So when it comes to court, magistrates will usually look at the circumstances and the offender’s lawyer will argue that they should be granted bail.
“Generally, they will get bail because magistrates consider the person’s freedom to be much more important than the threat to society or the victim.”
Financing for frontline services
Hurley said the Albanian government had announced new funding for domestic violence as a political strategy to ensure its re-election.
“Financing is only done based on the electoral cycle,” he said.
“I may be wrong, and by the time the second elections come around all of this will have been tragically forgotten, but I think Albanese has given [domestic violence] funding now and he will be re-elected.
Hurley said women who escaped violence were often left with nothing.
“I went with my mother to a women’s shelter in Sydney’s western suburbs to donate clothes from the public,” she said.
‘Now, how can that possibly be correct? Not only do women have to suffer the indignity of fleeing some violent pr***, but they also have the indignity of wearing second-hand clothes, that is degrading to women.
‘These women’s shelters and other independent women’s groups have to fund many of their services themselves. There is no government support.
“That’s just outrageous.”
Hurley said state and federal governments should invest more in frontline services rather than pouring money into an expensive royal commission.
Royal Commission
Dr Hurley said a royal commission into Australia’s domestic violence crisis is a “waste of time” and millions of dollars would be better spent on services.
“I think the reason politicians probably don’t want a royal commission is because it would shift too much attention to them, to their failures,” he said.
‘It will cost millions and millions and millions. How many additional beds, rehab, how many additional nurses could that buy, how many additional psychologists or psychiatrists could that help fund?
Social media
Hurley said domestic violence has been happening for decades before social media existed and she worries the government is too concerned about online abuse.
“Now that social media has come into play, I’m concerned that the emphasis will be more on social media than on helping women literally escape domestic violence,” she said.
‘I’m sure social influences and being online contribute to it. As a father I don’t doubt it at all.’
Role of education
Dr. Hurley said schools are the only common place where young people gather, but teachers should not be expected to teach respectful relationships.
“We might as well call them social workers,” he said.
‘Trying to correct behavior, trying to prevent parents from abusing teachers because their child misbehaves or from abusing the teacher because the school is not living up to parents’ expectations, how can you expect a system education faces this?
‘I’m not sure what the answer is because, unfortunately, school is the only commonality for young children when they grow up.
“It’s the only really stable thing in his life.”
Politicians on another planet
Hurley said politicians tasked with combating Australia’s gender-based violence crisis were mostly “privileged white men” who had no first-hand experience.
He said lawmakers were reacting to anger that has existed in society for decades and long before he worked as a police officer in the 1980s.
“Politicians and the legal community do not consider it within human terms,” he said.
‘If it happened to them, They would have the financial resources to be able to throw it all to the victim’s children or grandchildren, but the average gambler on the street would not.’
Your message to young women
Hurley encouraged women to observe the cycle of violence, in which couples repeat a honeymoon phase, a period of tension, and then a violent outburst.
“The longer they are in that relationship, the harder it will be,” he said.
“There is never an easy time to leave, but you need to leave for as long as it takes because everyone is different in the way they process trauma.
“But when they leave, they’re going to have to try to look at it as if I’m not leaving now and I’m still here in six months or years, is anything going to get better?”
‘It’s a kind of reality check.
‘But it should never be about why the woman didn’t leave. Didn’t she know? That doesn’t understand how difficult this is for women. “It’s not a women’s problem.”
