Treat DV offences as extremist threats, centre says

Women could be better protected if domestic violence perpetrators were treated more like violent extremists, an Australian Institute of Criminology report has suggested.

Even when high-risk domestic violence perpetrators are known to authorities, many go on to commit homicide due to a lack of communication between agencies.

Sydney man John Edwards, who fatally shot his two estranged children before turning the gun on himself in 2018, had a decades-long history of domestic violence and was still allowed access to firearms.

This pattern has extended to recent femicides, with 29-year-old Daniel Billings allegedly murdering his ex-girlfriend Molly Ticehurst, while out on bail for intimidation and animal cruelty charges in April.

"Law enforcement or health agencies in isolation will rarely have the information needed to identify these perpetrators as they escalate toward violence," the Institute of Criminology report notes.

"Each agency may have only part of the story detailing the true degree of risk."

In response, the institute has suggested establishing a domestic violence threat assessment centre.

It is modelled after Fixated Threat Assessment Centres, used across the world and in Australia to assess and manage risks posed by "lone-actor fixated individuals" who are obsessed with public figures, places or causes.

These individuals and perpetrators of domestic violence share similarities as both groups have fixations and are motivated by grievances which can fuel changes in behaviour.

For example, domestic violence offenders can feel a sense of injustice when their former partner enters a new relationship and they might then stalk their victims, intensifying their grievances which could drive extreme forms of violence.

A domestic violence threat assessment centre would bridge law enforcement, mental health services, domestic violence agencies and legal services, allowing them to share information and intervene more quickly in high-risk cases.

Signs like stalking, recent separation, child custody or financial disputes and applications for a protection order could be better communicated, putting more eyes on perpetrators and paving the way for intervention before their actions escalate.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has said this report will help inform the federal government's policy but did not explicitly commit to the model.

"We are committed to doing more to address this shocking crime that has a deeply traumatic impact on families and communities," he said.

However, the Australian Institute of Criminology notes the proposal does not deal with the entire issue of intimate partner homicide and does not suggest it replaces existing approaches to domestic violence.

The federal government has committed $3.4 billion to support a national plan to end violence against women and children.

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