By LAURA WAKELY
MAGISTRATES have called for more funding to deal with the growing number of family violence cases.
Chief Magistrate Ian Gray told media last week that there had been a 48 per cent increase in family violence and intervention order applications in the past five years.
Victoria Police figures show family violence incidences increased by 18 per cent between the 2010 and 2011 financial year across the West, with 1589 incidents between July 2010 and June 2011.
Sunshine Regional Co-ordinating Magistrate Noreen Toohey said there has been a 22 per cent increase in the same period for family violence orders at the Sunshine Magistrates’ Court.
The most recent Department of Justice figures show 3596 family violence orders were issued in the courts between July 2011 and June 2012.
Ms Toohey said there were many “busy days” at the courts in Sunshine and Werribee, which is also included in the region, but that lists were manageable because of a good court structure.
She said Sunshine Magistrates’ had had a family violence registrar since 2006, a welfare worker for the applicant and any children and liason with police and community services including Women’s Health West and InTouch.
But Ms Toohey said the caseload could be reduced further if funding was available for more staff, including a respondent worker, which are only employed in Ballarat and Heidelberg
Respondent workers assist the defendant, talking them through the court process and assessing the reasons why they’ve committed family violence.
They can link them with services and programs to help them address issues and may work with them over several months.
“If you have him in court and he’s got no one and he’s just got his lawyer explaining the conditions and he just wanders out, what have we done to change him?” Ms Toohey said.
“Have we really made the applicant safe? Or have we really done not very much?
“It’s all about having a response that’s not just having a piece of paper.”
