DOMESTIC violence is problem for the whole of society, according to Peel Family Protection Unit Senior Constable Phil Tuffin.
He said the rates of violence in the community are fairly steady.
“We’ve seen a slight rise year by year,” he said.
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Con Tuffin said there is not enough services tailored towards men and agreed that a shelter where offenders could stay “would be handy.”
People ignoring violence restraining orders is an ongoing issue.
“It is ingrained behaviour and the VROs don’t always work,” he said.
“But it does give us a means of monitoring their behaviour.
“If they breach the VRO and visit the premises, when police arrive it gives us some power.
“Or if they are texting or calling the victim, it gives us the power to charge people.”
Domestic violence tends to peak in the warmer months.
“People drink more and they go out and party – they get together with people they don’t usually see,” he said.
Con Tuffin’s message to domestic abuse victims is – there is help out there.
“Don’t be scared to get help we can’t help if we don’t know about it,” he said.
“We see hundreds of incidents a week and we’ve seen everything that can happen. Don’t be embarrassed we are there to resolve the situation.
“There is no shame in calling police it is all part of the process.”
Con Tuffin said in some cases the violence is long term and ingrained.
“In these cases the victim isn’t in a position where they can go through the court process,” he said.
“It can take months of counselling to get the victim to a place where they can deal with the process.
“They should get in early and contact support services and get help.”
Reported cases of domestic violence from July 2014 to April 2015
WA whole – 13,477
South Metro (includes Mandurah) – 2699
This is part of a feature on domestic violence.
You can read more here:
Domestic violence victim speaks out
