traumatised and to have to give evidence in court with the alleged offender present is a very stressful experience. Again, resources are always limited, but it is hoped that a way may be seen to make these relatively small but significant changes to improve the SARP legislation.

Family Violence Intervention Program

The Family Violence Intervention Program (FVIP) is a coordinated inter-agency response to address family violence in our community through the criminal justice system.

The Office continues to devote significant resources to the FVIP. The Family Violence (FV) team consists of 5.5 specialist prosecutors to cope with the large number of family violence cases. The number of FV matters continues at a high level, although with the change-over in the way statistics are captured within the office, it has been difficult to make exact comparisons to previous reporting periods.

Family violence matters are identified at the charging stage by the police and once before the Magistrates Court, are transferred to the Family Violence Court.

FV prosecutors appear in most family violence matters. This provides consistency of approach and continuity for victims. Prosecutor case loads continue to be allocated according to defendants’ surnames to enable prosecutors to be familiar with the background history of repeat offenders and ensure consistency.

A significant challenge for FV prosecutors is prosecuting matters where the complainant is a reluctant participant in the proceedings. The reasons for this vary but issues such as financial reliance and pressure from the defendant and other family members play a major role. As with all prosecutions, the FV team proceeds with charges where there are reasonable prospects of conviction bearing in mind the strong public interest in denouncing family violence. The specialist FV prosecutors undertake in-house training in evidence law and courtroom skills. They are greatly assisted and supported by the Witness Assistance Service and dedicated specialist paralegals.

FV prosecutors continue to work closely with all the FVIP participating agencies. The Office works closely with the AFP advising of appropriate charges, identifying further evidence and providing specialist family violence training to new recruits. Victims Support ACT and the Domestic Violence Crisis Service (DVCS) also continue to play an important role in supporting complainants. And in cases involving children, FV prosecutors liaise closely with the AFP and the Office of Children, Youth and Family Support.

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS ANNUAL REPORT 2012-2013				¦ 17
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