What to expect when you report family violence

Police will immediately:

• make sure everyone is safe, including adults and children
• check if anyone needs urgent medical attention.

Police officers will turn on their Body Worn Cameras.

These cameras capture audio and video recordings while police are responding.

Police will focus on what's happening now to make everyone safe.

We will then ask what's happened in the past.

We will work out who is:

• being harmed most
• the main person harming others.

Police will also take note of any property damage.

Police officers are required to ask if anyone, including children, identifies as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. This is referred to as the Standard Indigenous Question.

Police will also ask if anyone has a disability, or any medical or other needs, that they are comfortable to disclose.

If you have difficulty speaking or understanding English, police will ask for an interpreter.

Police will make referrals to support services for each person involved, including children.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can let police officers know if they would prefer a referral to mainstream or Aboriginal services.

You can also contact support services without being referred by a police officer.

Once police have gathered the information they need, they will record details about the incident in a report. This information is kept in police data systems.

Police will also decide what other actions they need to take to keep people safe, or if a crime has been committed.

Police may need to share information from their report with other agencies or support services as directed by the law.

The type of information police share depends on what is needed to protect the person experiencing harm, or to manage the person using family violence.

You can ask police about how they share your information.

Police may ask you for an interview or statement to help them investigate. This might happen when they attend in person, or they may ask you to come to a police station.

They may also need to ask friends, family, or other witnesses about what has been happening.

Police may record what you tell us using audio and video recording. We also write down what you tell us in a formal statement. Both of these types of evidence can be used to help us at court.

Police may look into criminal charges against the person using family violence.

This may include arresting them and:

• holding them in police custody until a court date, also known as holding them on remand
• granting them bail until a court date
• issuing them a summons that tells them to attend court on a specific date.

When an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person is arrested, there will be a mandatory notification made to the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS).

Police will consider alternative pathways to manage children and young people who use family violence.

Please note, not all types of family violence are criminal offences.

Police may take civil (or non-criminal) action against a person who is using family violence.

This may include:

• issuing a family violence safety notice for immediate protection
• applying to the court for a family violence intervention order
• applying to the court to change an existing intervention order to increase protection
• making referrals for those experiencing harm and those using family violence to support services.

A safety notice or intervention order tells the person using family violence to stop certain behaviours to make someone else safer. This can also include making any children and young people safer.

For more information, visit Family violence safety notices and intervention orders.