Attrition of domestic assaults from the New South Wales criminal justice system

Aim

This study aims to track the progression of recorded incidents of domestic assault through the criminal justice system, from initial police report to sentencing.

Method

We used data from the NSW Computerised Operational Policing System (COPS) and the NSW Criminal Courts datasets to follow the progress of domestic assaults recorded by the NSW Police Force in 2022 through the NSW criminal justice system. The attrition of domestic assault incidents at the police investigation phase was examined, along with the attrition of any domestic violence charges associated with these incidents. Attrition rates were tracked separately for intimate partner assault, family assault and “other” domestic assault.

Results

In 2022, there were 33,811 incidents of domestic assault recorded by the NSW Police. About 57 per cent of these incidents occurred in the context of an intimate relationship. NSW Police proceeded to charge an individual accused of domestic assault in 24,273 incidents (72% of incidents). This varied by relationship type, with 77 per cent of intimate partner assaults, 67 per cent of family assaults, and 58 per cent of “other” domestic assaults resulting in legal action. During the court phase, 68 per cent of court appearances with a domestic violence charge related to the initial recorded domestic assault incident had one of those charges proven. This was consistent across the relationship categories. Of the 12,916 court appearances in which a domestic violence charge was proven the vast majority (81%) were finalised by way of the defendant entering a plea of guilty. Just under 20 per cent of court appearances had all domestic violence charges withdrawn. Seventy-four per cent of court appearances with a proven domestic violence offence received a community correction order, of which half were supervised. Only 14 per cent received a custodial sentence, with this being higher for intimate partner assaults (16%) compared to family assaults (10%) and “other” domestic assaults (12%). Overall, these results indicate that only 39 per cent of the 33,811 domestic assault incidents recorded by NSW Police in 2022 resulted in a proven outcome.

Conclusion

While relationship type has no bearing on the likelihood of a domestic violence charge being proven at court, NSW Police are more likely to charge an individual suspected of intimate partner assault and where the offence is proven, judicial officers are more likely to impose harsher sanctions. Further research examining why non-intimate partner assault incidents receive a different criminal justice system response to intimate partner assault incidents is warranted.