Electronic Resources:	http://www.adfvc.unsw.edu.au/Word%20Files/Newsletter_22.doc
Web resource:	http://www.adfvc.unsw.edu.au/PDF%20files/Newsletter_22.pdf
Type:	Journal Article
Title:	Safe at home: Tasmania’s whole-of-government program,
Other Titles:	Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse newsletter
Authors:	Anonymous
Keywords:	Legislation analysis;Risk assessment;Criminal justice responses;Screening;Protection orders;Policing;Risk factors
Year:	2005
Publisher:	Australian Domestic & Family Violence Clearinghouse, UNSW
Citation:	(22), October 2005
Notes:	This is based on an interview with Liz Little, Principal Consultant, Whole-of-Government Safe at Home Project, Department of Justice, Tasmania. It gives a background to the Safe at Home strategy for addressing family violence in Tasmania. A new law, Family Violence Act, was enacted. $17 million of new money was allocated to the strategy over 4 years for increased policing positions and resources, legal aid, counselling services for women and children and for men (on-call extended hours services, a 24-hour seven days a week crisis information and referral telephone service, court support and professional training). The most significant change was the Family Violence Act legislation. New powers include: the requirement for a magistrate to be sure of safety and risk factors before granting bail; police have power to issue Family Violence Orders on the spot which last for 12 months unless otherwise prescribed by a court; economic violence and emotional violence are defined as offences; in addition to aggravating factors of family violence offences (eg pregnancy of the victim or committing an offence in the presence of a child), penalties are increased with each subsequent conviction for a family violence offence and after 4 convictions for a family violence or a breach of a Family Violence Order, the offender will be sentenced to jail. Serious offenders will be given rehabilitation through a cognitive-behavioural program as a sentencing option (100 hours over 10 weeks). The role of police is changed now to provide all crisis intervention, pro-arrest and pro-prosecution. A risk assessment (using a tool, RAST) and safety audit are done at every domestic violence incident: incidents are accessed as low, medium or high risk. Police can assist the victims to develop a safety plan. Risk assessment includes a history of domestic violence, a course of conduct instead of a single-incident focus. All data on every case are collected on a common server and can be accessed by police and the Department of Justice. The arrest rate has increased by 40%. The strategy also addresses the gaps between service delivery through case management to also ensure sharing of information and accountability for the safety of victims and their families.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/16777
ISSN:	1443-7236
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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