An online court database with key details about rapists, thugs and murderers could help curb Australia’s growing domestic violence problem, but it is trapped behind a costly paywall.
Anthony Albanese has called domestic violence in Australia a “national crisis” following 27 murders this year.
Twelve women died in suspected incidents of domestic violence in April alone, raising the national statistic from one death per week to one every four days.
On Sunday, the mother of Dannielle Finlay-Jones, a Sydney woman who was brutally murdered by her Bumble date Ashley Gaddie in 2022, said her daughter would be alive if her killer was not granted bail for violence against women.
Finlay-Jones had no way of knowing that Gaddie, 35, was halfway through a community corrections order for stalking and strangling another woman when they met, or that five women had received violence orders against him.
Her family has called for police to monitor dating apps to protect women from attackers.
But an easier solution for the government might be to open up the court records database, which is only available to those who can pay $49.50 a month to access it.
Pictured: Dannielle Finlay-Jones, murdered by her Bumble date in 2022
His attacker, Ashley Gaddie (pictured), was out on bail for assaulting a woman and five women took it out on him. He committed suicide in prison in April.
Court Data Australia is privately owned and allows users to search a person’s court appearances by name and state or territory.
While it often does not show specific criminal charges or whether a charge was dropped or dismissed, it does show whether an individual has had violence ordered against them.
A search of Gaddie’s name showed a total of 46 court appearances, including the five arrested violence warrants dating back to 2016.
But anyone who wants to take full advantage of the online service has to shell out $16.50 for two hours, $49.50 for a month, or $495 for an annual subscription.
Finlay-Jones’ mother Jacky told 60 Minutes on Sunday that her family hoped justice would be served in court when Gaddie was found responsible for the murder.
But the ruthless killer took his own life at Clarence Correctional Center while awaiting trial.
The couple met on Bumble and had been on two dates before December 2022, when they had a small argument during a drinking game and returned to their friend’s house in Cranebrook.
When they had not surfaced by 2pm the next day, the friend entered the bedroom and found Ms Finlay-Jones’ dead and beaten body.
Pictured: A screenshot of Ashley Gaddie’s court listings on Court Data. She had five AVOs dating back to 2016.
Gaddie was on the run for two days before he finally had a 12-hour standoff with police atop a cliff in the Blue Mountains. He was later arrested and charged.
Jacky has called for stronger bail laws to ensure violent and repeat offenders like Gaddie are not released into the community, and for dating apps like Bumble to include police checks.
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said she had discussed the idea with her interstate counterparts, but said the idea could be applied in any situation.
‘I don’t think this applies just to dating apps. “It could be any circumstance where a person may have concerns about the person they are potentially dating, or a family member may even have concerns,” he told the show.
After the 12 deaths in April, two more women were found dead in the first week of May.
A 78-year-old woman was allegedly murdered by her own son. The other was a 30-year-old mother of four, who police say was attacked by her boyfriend before setting fire to the house.
Several of the men arrested and charged for the alleged murders of their intimate partners or former partners this year have multiple court appearances in the database.
One man has 287 listings to his name.
Jacky Finlay-Jones (pictured) has said her daughter would still be alive if she was not granted bail on previous charges.
Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth described domestic violence in Australia as a “scourge that does not discriminate based on a person’s income or postcode” in a statement to Daily Mail Australia on Monday.
However, he did not comment on the notion of a domestic violence database.
“Family, domestic and sexual violence is a national crisis and has been for some time,” he said.
‘This has been an issue I have worked on every day since becoming minister and our national plan to end violence against women and children is the guiding framework to direct our investments in this space.
“Our government has invested and continues to invest in prevention, early intervention, response, cure and recovery, which are the four areas of the National Plan.”
Rishworth also said that “too many women die at the hands of an intimate or former partner” and live in fear.
“We will not be satisfied until women are safe and we don’t see more women dying at the hands of men.”
Data released by the Australian Institute of Criminology in April reveals that domestic violence-related deaths increased by about 30 per cent in 2022-23, compared to the previous year.
The Albanian government plans to provide up to $5,000 in financial support to people fleeing violent relationships, along with access to referral services, risk assessments and safety planning.
$129 million will be used to intervene and support those at risk of becoming perpetrators.
Around $129 million will be used to intervene and support those at risk of becoming perpetrators.
