NSW Police launch ‘game-changing’ domestic violence initiative

The NSW Police Force has set a new global standard for domestic violence investigations, with a new initiative which sees police recording victim statements at the crime scene.

Police will now carry a device with them to record statements for evidence at the scene in an effort to ensure complaints make it all the way to court.

“You might say ‘why is that important’ but let me assure you, often we see a very different scene than the one that we experience on the day when a victim and an offender appears in court,” NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione told 9NEWS.

Police often struggle with victims who later refuse to testify against their abusers, he said.

“When you see someone standing in front of you who has trouble remembering, who has been intimidated, where they are fearful in the ongoing relationship, things often change,” Mr Scipione said.

The recording of a victim’s statement, part of a new initiative called Domestic Violence Evidence in Chief (DEVEC), will now be presented as the chief evidence when put in front of the magistrate.

Senior Sergeant Leesa Karavasilis-McEvoy said not only has DEVEC been a game-changer for domestic violence cases, but it also encourages more victims to appear in court.

“The impacts that DEVEC is having on our court cases is amazing,” she said.

“I haven’t seen a single DEVEC that we’ve run where the victim hasn’t attended.”

The initiative was launched in June and already 65 percent of the 2000 recordings taken by police have made it to court.

DEVEC has also led many offenders to give early pleas.

“We have had offenders that will break down and cry,” Mr Scipione said.

“That will actually stand up and say ‘I’m sorry for what I’ve done’.”