For the first time in Queensland, police body-worn camera footage will be allowed to be used in court for domestic and family violence survivors, following the passing of a bill in state parliament.
A pilot project will take place on the Gold Coast and in Ipswich, some of state's most prolific regions for domestic and family violence, with the Queensland Police Service hoping it will then become a permanent fixture statewide.
The changes aim to reduce the re-traumatising of victims who currently have to relay detailed accounts of incidents several times as part of the police reporting and court process.
It also reduces the chance of perpetrators being able to intimidate victims after an incident or convince them to withdraw a complaint.
Estelle Forrester from the Queensland Police Services' Domestic, Family Violence and Vulnerable Person's Command, said it was a win for survivors, support groups and police, who have been lobbying for the changes for many years.
"We are one of the last states in Australia to have this capability to record a victim's statement by a body-worn camera, and to have that produced as evidence-in-chief in court," she said.
"Traditional taking of the statement usually happens after the event, and often it's not practicable to obtain a written statement straight after. So often, officers will schedule a time with the victim to come in the next day or within a couple of days to provide a written statement.
"And in the meantime, the perpetrator has the ability to get in the ear of the victim and, and talk them down from giving a statement or convince them otherwise and using controlling tactics to allow them to think that it's not appropriate to give a statement.
"Also being able to capture on the body on camera the emotions that they're showing at the time of the incident, they're able to really illustrate the victim's demeanour ... close to the time.
"[With a written statement] you can't capture a victim crying or … visibly see trauma on her face … so it's got extreme benefits for that victim."
Alarming rates of domestic violence
Ms Forrester said both Ipswich and the Gold Coast were regions with alarming rates of domestic and family violence, and with the pilot's success, it was hoped it would soon roll out statewide.
"We are hoping that within the 12-month trial it will be evaluated and then from there, we're hopeful that the ability to take video-recorded statements will be available statewide.
"We've got a number of officers working really hard on developing and rolling out this training, covering off not just the capability to take video evidence statements, but also infuse a victim-centric and trauma-informed lens.
"That's something really important to the investigation of domestic and family violence, so we've had a number of specialists involved in the development of the training so that we can see our officers appropriately trained going forward."
The recent inquest into the death of murder victim Doreen Langham heard police wore body cameras several times, during visits to her home including mid-February 2021, just before she was killed.
