Making a difference

Editorial and photography: Jesse Wray-McCann

Victoria Police’s response to family violence continues to be bolstered with a new, dedicated training centre.

Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent said the Centre of Learning for Family Violence, based at the Victoria Police Academy, was a “huge step forward” for Victoria Police in dealing with family violence, which accounts for 40-60 per cent of frontline police time.

He said the centre will lead the organisation’s education and training efforts in ensuring police officers are more capable to respond and provide support to family violence victims.

“The latest crime statistics show police attended more than 79,000 incidents across the state in 2018, an increase of more than 3 per cent compared to the previous year,” DC Nugent said.

“This means that about every six minutes, a police officer comes into contact with someone who has been the victim of physical or sexual assault, manipulation or abuse of power or control by someone they trust, often in their own home.

“The home should be one of the safest places in the community to be, yet in reality it’s often not.

“We’ve got to change that.”

DC Nugent said every single police officer through to superintendent level will undertake family violence training.

The centre has 37 specialist educators made up of police officers, senior instructors and family violence training officers.

The two-level building can accommodate up to 110 staff members and includes a simulation space, a 60-seat auditorium, 15 smaller rooms and five classrooms.

It is equipped with contemporary learning equipment, including systems capable of live streaming, providing regional and rural police employees across Victoria with access to education and training.

The new facility will also strengthen police collaboration with community, government and family violence service providers.

DC Nugent said the work and training done at the centre – which was a recommendation of the Royal Commission into Family Violence in 2016 – would make Victorians safer.

“Better supporting the victims, better supporting the perpetrators and holding them to account, will save lives,” he said.

The launch of the centre comes as 207 new family violence specialists commence their roles next month, working within every policing division across Victoria to prevent and reduce the harms of family violence.

By January 2020 there will be 415 trained specialist investigators, completing Victoria Police’s transition to state-wide Family Violence Investigation Units with dedicated detectives and intelligence practitioners embedded into the teams.