Police Safety Orders protect victims

As a policeman, it was always with foreboding that I attended domestic abuse incidents in homes and then had to leave with a sense that I would be back before too long to deal with the same parties in yet another clash. They were usually booze-fuelled, often with children present, teaching them that family fights often ended in the police calling around.

All we did was teach them the wrong way to settle arguments in relationships.

Home should be where people feel safe and secure. Yet for many New Zealanders, home is a place of heart-breaking violence and abuse.

National came to office believing more could be done to protect the victims of domestic violence. So last year we introduced Police Safety Orders in the Domestic Violence (Enhancing Safety) Act. These allow police to remove an alleged violent person from the home for up to five days. It makes it very clear to that person that violence won't be tolerated.

Police Safety Orders provide a period of safety for victims so they can consider their future options, including the possibility of a court protection order.

Police use this tool when there is insufficient evidence to arrest but where they believe there is a likelihood of further violence. There is nothing more frustrating than reading a situation and realising there is more of the same to come, yet there is nothing you can do about it. More than 5000 PSOs have been issued.

Those on the frontline of domestic violence have said PSOs are successful in helping stop domestic violence before it escalates and give at-risk people breathing space to consider their options.

Figures show that only 5.9 per cent of PSOs have been breached. This is lower than the expected rate of 10 per cent. The low breach level shows the orders are successful in helping police reduce domestic violence.

This law ensures any offender who breaches a protection order incurs a maximum penalty of up to two years' imprisonment. It provides a penalty of up to six months' imprisonment for failing to attend a court-ordered programme, and allows police to impose any conditions necessary to protect people living with a victim of domestic violence.

This Government has passed numerous pieces of legislation, frequently with support from the other side of the House, in order to further protect children and victims of abuse. I am proud to be part of a Government that takes that lead and implements this kind of legislation.

Even more, I look forward to seeing a change in this society, in which our country no longer has ugly statistics of violence and child abuse and neglect, and we can take a rightful place on the planet as a caring community.