Jails crowded by men on remand but DV victims still vulnerable

The Minns government must give serious consideration to protecting the victims of domestic violence in budget preparations.

So far, the government has put most of its eggs in one basket and concentrated its pursuit of the perpetrators by augmenting the powers of police and the courts.

One consequence, as the Herald’s Bevan Shields tellingly reports, is that the state’s corrections system is now clogged by men on remand.

Currently, 13,133 people are in NSW prisons. The sentenced population is now 7052 but the other 6081 are on remand – an astounding increase of nearly 37 per cent in just over five years. Of the 1370 prisoners at the Silverwater corrections facility one in three, or 471, are there for domestic violence offences.

At the same time, public outrage over domestic violence has been growing. Eleven women have died this year.

The spike in the number of NSW prisoners being remanded was partially driven by changes to bail laws prompted by the death of childcare worker Molly Ticehurst at Forbes, in central western NSW, two years ago next month. Her former partner, Daniel Billings, who had been released on bail for sexually assaulting her, pleaded guilty to her murder.

The Minns government’s changes to the Bail Act not only required magistrates and judges to consider prior behaviour, including violent and sexually abusive conduct, stalking, and death or injury to an animal, but they also made people facing domestic violence charges show why they should not be detained until their case was determined, reversing the presumption of bail. The changes also gave weight to the safety concerns expressed by victims and their families.

The Minns government anticipated the bail reforms would lead to a spike in the prison population and it earmarked $100 million in last year’s budget to help pay for it.

Premier Chris Minns also announced government support services would receive an additional $227 million over five years, aimed at supporting domestic violence victim-survivors navigating the justice system.

But in concentrating its response to domestic violence on policing and corrections, the Minns government has missed the opportunity to better assist victims who, for years, have often been the most neglected areas of policies aimed at countering domestic violence.

The funding did not adequately address ballooning waitlists and struggling frontline services. A recent Domestic Violence NSW report found the average wait time for support was two months, and some services were operating at up to nine times their funded capacity. There were few provisions for preventative measures such as improved security at the homes of victims who had complained to authorities.

Domestic Violence NSW acting chief executive Carolyn Hodge has asked the government for a $177 million increase in funding for specialist domestic and family violence services.

Although the growth in the prison remand population risks draining resources from other justice programs, it is proof the Minns government has taken admirable steps to confront perpetrators.

But the lopsided policy now needs to be rebalanced by adequately funding the services that shield their victims.

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