Concern sex assault data engineered
POLICE are being urged to review all sexual assault complaints on the Gold Coast after an Auditor General’s report found victims of crime had been encouraged not to take action.
The Police Minister, Attorney General and Police Commissioner have all been contacted by Coast welfare workers after they received disturbing feedback from rape victims.
The Auditor General’s report last month found Coast officers under pressure to reduce crime rates had solicited victims to withdraw complaints.
The Bulletin has obtained an email trail from political sources in Brisbane which reveals urgent action was sought from senior government ministers.
Women reporting to a Coast support service say they “felt pressured to withdraw their SA (sexual assault) complaint” and that police “unfounding” of cases had increased.
“The unfounding as reported by our clients has now been confirmed as a clearance method,” the support service told ministers.
“A number of our clients have not been given the opportunity for their complaints to be thoroughly investigated and subsequently have not received some of the victim assist funding they may have been entitled to.”
The Bulletin understands victims of sexual assault may be able to receive up to $10,000 in financial help if their investigation remained on the police books. Official police statistics for the past two years back up the claims by victims.
In October 2015, senior police were concerned about annual statistic review figures which showed rape and attempted rape cases had jumped 51 per cent in 12 months.
A year later, senior police announced a dramatic decrease in sexual offences.
The 2015-16 Statistical Review showed sexual offences dropped 16.2 per cent, and reported rapes or attempted rape offences were down by 32 offences on the previous year.
The office of Police Minister Mark Ryan responded by seeking more details from the support agency.
Mr Ryan told the Bulletin: “I urge anyone who may feel less than satisfied with the way in which their complaint was handled to contact Policelink on 131 444. This includes longstanding complaints that may date back to 2010.”
Given criminologists believe that at least a quarter of the current Coast data is inaccurate following the Auditor General’s findings, Coast social workers are unsure about the true picture of sexual assaults.
Crime figures for the Coast released in August 2016 showed assaults had increased by 44 per cent and domestic violence charges by 51 per cent. By December the overall crime rate was up 28.5 per cent and assaults up 66 per cent.
Opposition prevention of domestic violence spokeswoman Ros Bates said she had serious concerns, adding: “Women have told me they have been turned away. I’m well aware there’s women from the south to the northern end of the Coast – they didn’t believe their complaints were being taken seriously.”
Ms Bates said she had contacted police about some victims, including those in domestic violence disputes. She said the LNP had called for a full review into police manipulation of crime data.