- Child sex report 'a disappointment'
- By Gary Hughes
- The Age
- 10/07/2004 Make a Comment
- Contributed by: admin ( 100 articles in 2004 )
The findings of an Ombudsman's inquiry in the police mishandling of child sexual abuse cases was "extremely disappointing" and raised a number of serious broader issues, Victorian Law Reform Commissioner Marcia Neave said yesterday.
While Victoria Police had moved to improve training and there were many good sexual crimes investigators, police could be better educated in how to deal with such offences, she said.
More comprehensive data from the police and courts was also needed to pinpoint where and how the criminal justice system was failing victims, Professor Neave said.
"A lot of the detectives are not particularly specialist. They investigate lots of different things, including sexual crimes. Some of them might not be suited to doing it and some of them may need extra training," she said.
Professor Neave also pointed to the problem of attitudes within the police and in the broader community towards sexual crimes and some of the popular "myths" that surrounded them.
"One of the things that may hinder effective investigation is that there are myths about what are the characteristics of genuine complaints. If the investigating officer believes those myths, then they are not likely to take the complaint very seriously," she said. "And those are myths held not just by the police, they are held by people in the community generally."
Professor Neave said such myths included the belief that the victims of sexual assault "bring it on themselves" or that they should immediately report assaults to police.
"People will say that's a very improbable scenario and it couldn't possibly have happened. But often if you look at patterns, they are the things that happen in many cases," she said.
The Ombudsman's report found that in one case a senior detective from the sexual crimes squad blamed a 12-year-old girl for leading on the 63-year-old man who allegedly assaulted her. Another policeman described the same girl to Ombudsman's investigators as a "little slut".
Four child sexual abuse cases have been reopened following the Ombudsman's inquiry, the operations of the sexual crimes squad is being independently reviewed and two detectives are facing disciplinary action and possible transfer.
The Victorian Law Reform Commission has just completed a comprehensive review of sexual offences and how they are handled within the criminal justice system. The report is due to be tabled in the spring session of State Parliament.
Professor Neave said that while improvements were urgently needed, the criminal justice system would only ever be able to deal with a minority of cases "because the evidence isn't there" to mount a prosecution.
Many victims also remained reluctant to be involved in court cases.
Child sex abuse campaigners, who earlier this week called for a royal commission, yesterday met the Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon and the Assistant Commissioner for Crime, Simon Overland.
While Victoria Police had moved to improve training and there were many good sexual crimes investigators, police could be better educated in how to deal with such offences, she said.
More comprehensive data from the police and courts was also needed to pinpoint where and how the criminal justice system was failing victims, Professor Neave said.
"A lot of the detectives are not particularly specialist. They investigate lots of different things, including sexual crimes. Some of them might not be suited to doing it and some of them may need extra training," she said.
Professor Neave also pointed to the problem of attitudes within the police and in the broader community towards sexual crimes and some of the popular "myths" that surrounded them.
"One of the things that may hinder effective investigation is that there are myths about what are the characteristics of genuine complaints. If the investigating officer believes those myths, then they are not likely to take the complaint very seriously," she said. "And those are myths held not just by the police, they are held by people in the community generally."
Professor Neave said such myths included the belief that the victims of sexual assault "bring it on themselves" or that they should immediately report assaults to police.
"People will say that's a very improbable scenario and it couldn't possibly have happened. But often if you look at patterns, they are the things that happen in many cases," she said.
The Ombudsman's report found that in one case a senior detective from the sexual crimes squad blamed a 12-year-old girl for leading on the 63-year-old man who allegedly assaulted her. Another policeman described the same girl to Ombudsman's investigators as a "little slut".
Four child sexual abuse cases have been reopened following the Ombudsman's inquiry, the operations of the sexual crimes squad is being independently reviewed and two detectives are facing disciplinary action and possible transfer.
The Victorian Law Reform Commission has just completed a comprehensive review of sexual offences and how they are handled within the criminal justice system. The report is due to be tabled in the spring session of State Parliament.
Professor Neave said that while improvements were urgently needed, the criminal justice system would only ever be able to deal with a minority of cases "because the evidence isn't there" to mount a prosecution.
Many victims also remained reluctant to be involved in court cases.
Child sex abuse campaigners, who earlier this week called for a royal commission, yesterday met the Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon and the Assistant Commissioner for Crime, Simon Overland.
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