MINISTER UNDER FIRE
POLICE Minister Mark Ryan is facing a barrage of criticism over problems with GPS trackers meant to keep domestic violence victims safe.
Besides the expected heat from the Opposition, community groups have also weighed in, calling for the monitoring bracelets to be pulled pending a full review.
The Gold Coast Bulletin has revealed grave fears about the system as a judge yesterday expressed concern at the sheer number of domestic violence cases reaching the Gold Coast court system.
THE Opposition is calling on Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to sack Police Minister Mark Ryan after revelations of potential fatal flaws in the GPS trackers worn by alleged family thugs.
Community groups yesterday also called on the Government to pull the ankle bracelets and review the safety system.
The Gold Coast Bulletin yesterday revealed the monitoring system breaks down if victims move out of an alleged thug’s no-go zone or a mobile telephone signal fails.
“The embattled Police Minister needs to finally front up and come clean on his GPS trackers, including the cost of the system and the process of monitoring and tracking offenders,” the Opposition women’s spokesperson Ros Bates said.
“He also needs to provide an iron-clad guarantee that domestic violence victims are safe under his system.
“Anything less is another major community safety bungle on his watch and shows his contempt for vulnerable victims that he’s supposed to protect.”
Ms Bates urged the Government to have a rethink and adopt the LNP policy which enabled victims to have a duress alarm that alerts them if an alleged offender was nearby.
The Opposition said the community was tired of Mr Ryan’s reactionary leadership. Ms Bates said the fact Mr Ryan insisted accused wife beaters who were wearing the bracelets were “monitored around the clock, every second of the day” was inaccurate. They were not being watched and it was frightening women.
“As a victim myself,
I feel for vulnerable women who are trapped in violent relationships. If the Police Minister isn’t up to the job then Annastacia Palaszczuk should show some leadership and sack him.”
After sustained pressure from the Bulletin, Queensland Police yesterday revealed:
● Offenders were being monitored by a private operator based in London which tells perpetrators to recharge the batteries on their bracelets.
● The victim is not monitored if they move out of an alleged offender’s no-go zone.
● When the network access is not available, the device cannot communicate the location of the tracked person.
Community groups are backing Ms Bates.
“If they are going to use (the trackers), they need to do it properly,” said Red Rose Foundation CEO Betty Taylor. “There’s so many gaps (in the monitoring system). Maybe it’s time to pull them and go back to the drawing board.”
Ms Taylor said there were certain DV cases where the offenders could not be released given the failing of the trackers.
“With strangulation cases, it’s such a lethal indicator (that a murder could occur), I think we shouldn’t be messing around with it.”
POLICE Minister Mark Ryan is in a crisis of his own making. He is under attack from victims’ groups and faces calls for his sacking from the State Opposition over his bungled handling of the GPS tracker fiasco.
He has attacked this paper, deflected blame and attempted to shift responsibility to his Police Commissioner Ian Stewart.
The Bulletin sympathises with Mr Stewart. He is being asked to carry the can for flawed government policy and shoddy leadership from his Police Minister – who has form on that front.
The facts about this debacle, as we have set them out throughout the week, remain uncontested by both
Mr Ryan and Commissioner Stewart.
The grave concerns we raised remain unresolved. But to be crystal clear, let’s spell them out again.
Firstly, the devices are stored in Brisbane. They are only brought to the Gold Coast when a magistrate requests one in considering granting bail to an alleged violent offender.
Commissioner Stewart confirmed that in his letter to yesterday’s Bulletin.
To date, nobody has been able to explain why the devices cannot be stored on the Gold Coast. There is a secure safe at the Southport police station.
As a result, as occurred on Monday in Southport Court, magistrates are holding alleged offenders in custody for at least three days longer than they otherwise would while they wait for the devices.
In this case, the device did indeed arrive yesterday soon after 9am – but its battery was flat. As a result, the alleged offender could not be released with the bracelet fully charged until 1.30pm.
Contrast this with Mr Ryan’s claim that the trackers are transported to the Gold Coast within hours. This has yet to happen since the scheme was introduced.
So who, to paraphrase Mr Ryan, is being “wrong, ridiculous and reckless’’?
This unnecessary delay increases the cost to taxpayers and represents a denial of natural justice to alleged offenders.
Secondly, police have no way of knowing whether an alleged perpetrator is in the vicinity of his victim. While the alleged offender can be tracked, police do not know where the victim is at any point in time.
As solicitor Bill Potts observed, this undermines the utility of the GPS tracker.
The alleged offender is prohibited from entering no-go zones but despite exhaustive inquiries by the Gold Coast Bulletin the question remains unanswered: What if the victim has left the no-go zone and the alleged attacker knows it?
Mr Ryan asserts these people are being monitored around the clock. But they are not being watched. Mr Potts called out the Police Minister on that point, telling him to put up or shut up. Mr Ryan’s silence has been deafening.
Thirdly, those wearing the devices can only be detected while their tracker is charged.
Serious questions remain unanswered about this scheme that, for the sake of potential victims, need to be addressed, and urgently. There are lives at stake here.
If you doubt that, don’t take our word for it. Ask Judge Paul Smith, who yesterday told a court he was stunned by the number of domestic violence cases on the Coast.