LCQ14: Handling of domestic violence cases
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Question:
Some concern groups on domestic violence have relayed to me that quite a number of women who had fallen victims to domestic violence reported their cases to the Police, but the police officers who arrived at the scene persuaded the victims to drop their cases against the perpetrators on various pretexts (including that instituting prosecution against the perpetrator might affect their children and the employment of both parties, that the incident could be resolved after both parties exercising forbearance or after the perpetrator had calmed down, and that it was unlikely that the perpetrator would be convicted). Moreover, some police officers classified domestic violence cases only as "noise nuisance" cases and did not provide, in accordance with the relevant guidelines, the victims with information on related support services. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as the Police have classified domestic conflict cases into three categories, namely (i) Domestic Violence (Crime), (ii) Domestic Violence (Miscellaneous) and (iii) Domestic Incidents (including disputes), of the criteria currently adopted by the Police for classifying such cases; whether the Police have regularly reviewed such classification and criteria; if so, of the date of the last review; if not, the reasons for that; given the situation as relayed by the aforesaid concern groups, whether the Police will expeditiously conduct a review, and what measures are in place to ensure that police officers fully understand such criteria and classify cases accordingly;
(2) in each of the past three years, of (i) the respective numbers of domestic violence cases under the three aforesaid categories which were handled by the Police, (ii) the respective numbers of cases in which the perpetrators were prosecuted and convicted, as well as (iii) the number of cases which were classified as family dispute cases; the heaviest penalty imposed on those convicted perpetrators, and the details of the follow-up actions taken by the Police and by relevant organisations on such family dispute cases;
(3) given that the Social Welfare Department offers three educational programmes to support perpetrators of domestic violence, namely (i) the Anti-Violence Programme, (ii) the Batterer Intervention Programme and (iii) the Educational Programme on Stopping Domestic Violence, of the attendance for each programme in each of the past three years; as the aforesaid concern groups have pointed out that some perpetrators who had completed such programmes battered their spouses again, whether the authorities have reviewed and enhanced the contents of such programmes; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(4) as cases of domestic violence in the forms of psychological abuse and sexual abuse (including marital rape) will not cause apparent injuries to the victims, which may be easily overlooked by police officers, how the Police identify and follow up on such types of cases at present; whether relevant training has been provided regularly for police officers; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(5) in respect of those victims and their children who have been persistently stalked by the perpetrators even after they have reported their cases to the Police, of the current measures put in place by the Police to protect such victims and their children from being stalked, and the details of such measures?
Reply:
President,
The Police attach great importance to the problem of domestic violence. Through an inter-departmental and multi-disciplinary approach, the Police handle domestic violence cases with joint efforts, with a view to achieving the dual objectives of protecting the personal safety of the victims and their families as well as bringing the offenders to justice.
After consultation with the Labour and Welfare Bureau and the Social Welfare Department (SWD), I set out below my consolidated reply to the question raised by the Dr Hon Helena Wong:
(1) "Domestic violence" refers to any criminal or miscellaneous case involving violence or a breach of the peace that occurs between persons generally regarded as having marital or intimate partner relationships. These relationships refer to married, separated or divorced couples, cohabitants or former cohabitants (irrespective of gender), and lovers or former lovers (irrespective of gender) having a continuing relationship. The Police classify "Domestic Conflict Reports" into "Domestic Violence (Crime)", "Domestic Violence (Miscellaneous)" and "Domestic Incidents" based on their degree of seriousness:
(i) "Domestic Violence (Crime)" cases refer to criminal cases involving violence that occur between persons with the above relationships, including murder, manslaughter, wounding, serious assault, rape, indecent assault, criminal intimidation, criminal damage and possession of offensive weapons, etc.;
(ii) "Domestic Violence (Miscellaneous)" cases refer to cases involving common assault and a breach of the peace that occur between persons with the above relationships; and
(iii) "Domestic Incidents" refer to any family-related incidents not involving violence or a breach of the peace that occur between persons with the above relationships, such as disputes, nuisance, annoyance or conflicts, etc.
The Police have formulated a set of policies and procedures for effective handling of domestic violence cases, with a view to reducing domestic violence and strengthening protection for victims. The Police also have clear professional guidelines for the classification and handling of such cases. Irrespective of the classification of a case, police officers will handle and investigate it professionally with sympathy and understanding, as well as in a professional, fair and impartial manner. Timely referral will also be made as appropriate.
To ensure early identification of problematic families and appropriate classification and handling of cases, all front-line police officers have received relevant professional training. Upon receipt of a Domestic Conflict Report, the Police will deploy an officer of the rank of Sergeant or above to the scene of the family conflict to oversee the case in person, so as to ensure that it is properly handled.
(2) The respective numbers of cases under the three aforesaid categories and cases of "Domestic Incidents" involving "Disputes" handled by the Police in the past three years are set out in Annex I; information on the prosecution, conviction and sentence of "Domestic Violence (Crime)" cases in the past three years is set out in Annex II.
The Central Domestic Violence Database (CDVD) is an electronic database of information on past domestic violence or domestic incidents. It features an alert system by which the management of the police districts concerned will be alerted of high-risk cases for closer surveillance. In handling family conflict cases, frontline officers will check against the CDVD as well as the Emergency Referral Questionnaire and the Action Checklist specially designed for such purpose, so as to identify risk factors and make risk assessment in respect of the likelihood of continuance and recurrence of domestic violence.
The Police will, in light of the assessment results, take appropriate follow-up actions, including detaining the offender if appropriate and providing safe accommodation, counselling and other support services for victims and their family members in collaboration with SWD or other agencies. The Police will also provide a Family Support Service Information Card to the subjects to facilitate their further contacts with the service agencies for assistance.
For any report classified as a domestic violence case where referral to the relevant department for follow up is deemed necessary (e.g. if the subject has a record of domestic violence or abuse of alcohol or drugs), the Police will take the initiative to arrange referral whether the subject is consenting.
(3) Batterers participating in the Anti-Violence Programme (AVP) have to be mandated by the Court to attend the programme in accordance with the Domestic and Cohabitation Relationships Violence Ordinance. On the other hand, participation in the Batterer Intervention Programme (BIP) and the Educational Programme on Stopping Domestic Violence (EPSDV) is voluntary.
The numbers of participants of the aforementioned three programmes in the past three years are set out in Annex III.
SWD completed the evaluation study on the Pilot Project of the BIP (the "Pilot Project") for male batterers in 2008. According to the findings, the Pilot Project, coupled with the casework counselling services provided by social workers, was effective in helping the male batterers stop their violent acts towards their partners and improve their relationships. SWD is now conducting an evaluation study on the BIP for women. For AVP and EPSDV, social workers in charge of the programmes will conduct evaluation for every participant upon completion of the programmes.
SWD will provide necessary services to the batterers and their family members, including those involved in recurrence cases after the batterer has completed the BIP. The responsible social worker of SWD or non-governmental organisations will serve as the case manager of a domestic violence case to provide counselling and other support for the whole family, including the batterer, the victim and other affected family members.
(4) As pointed out in part (1) above, the Police, through on-going trainings, are always committed to enhancing the professional sensitivity, investigation skills and relevant legal knowledge of frontline officers in handling domestic violence cases. Training courses on skills of handling domestic violence cases, opposite sex/same-sex intimate partner relationships, psychology of victims and skills of handling conflicts have already been incorporated into the Police's Basic Training Course, Sergeants Promotion Course, Criminal Investigation Course, and Development Training Course. Training materials on the handling of domestic violence incidents are updated from time to time. With a view to further enhancing the professional sensitivity of frontline officers in handling victims of domestic violence, the Police have also produced relevant training videos and uploaded them to the Police's intranet for officers' information.
(5) The Police adopt the "One-family-one-team" system to consolidate investigations on reports involving the same family on domestic violence; if the suspect and victim(s) are recently involved in a previous report of similar nature, the investigation team handling the first report will take over such case for investigation, so as to facilitate decision making with better understanding of the whole situation. The Police will provide victims with the contact information of the investigation unit in charge of the case so that they can inform the unit of their latest situation.
A Designated Domestic Violence Investigation Unit is set up in each police district to investigate serious domestic violence cases. The Crime Investigation Teams deal with "Domestic Violence (Miscellaneous)" cases with a "High Threat". The Police put in place a "Victim Management" protocol for victims of "Domestic Violence (Crime)" and high-threat "Domestic Violence (Miscellaneous)" cases, so as to follow up timely the situation of the victims and their families, and to strengthen the support and safety assurance to victims throughout the case enquiry and legal proceedings. In addition, the Police will make risk assessments as mentioned in part (2) above, and in light of the assessments results, arrange timely referrals and provide appropriate support.
Ends/Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Issued at HKT 17:30
Issued at HKT 17:30
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