The average time police spend at a DV incident talking to the parties, gathering information and making decisions about how to proceed is around 1.5 hours. Nearly every police crew (an officer and his/her partner) will deal with at least one DV incident in a shift between sunset and sunrise. The details of that incident then need to be entered into the police system and if the Respondent elects to contest the order, the officers need to prepare an affidavit each. Both responding to DV incidents and preparing court material is time the officers could be dealing with other policing matters.

Domestic violence matters also contribute to delays in the court system. Even in uncontested cases, the average DV matter appears in court twice, with the order being made on the second appearance. Each time the matter is before the court, the average time is 15 minutes. This is one of the reasons it takes so long to get into court for anything. The Courts are spending time dealing with DV that they could spend dealing with other matters. Courts must allocate additional resources, such as duty lawyers funded by the state, to deal with these matters.

Beyond the public services, there is also the cost for the individuals involved. There is the Respondent and the Aggrieved’s expenses, both in terms of time and money. Unless the parties are self-represented or represented by the Police, there is the expense of hiring a lawyer to appear for them and prepare their case. This in addition to the time the people must take off from work to appear in court. These financial and emotional burdens compound the already difficult circumstances faced by those involved in domestic violence cases.

Domestic violence is a serious societal issue that affects more than just the people involved. If you would like to speak with a DV solicitor about your situation, call (07) 2113 4645 to schedule an initial consultation.