There are occasions in domestic violence cases in which magistrates refuse requests for a protection order to be issued despite the case being deemed a high risk, leaving the police with little option, Inspector Sylvana Gafa of the Police Victim Support Unit said.
In an interview with the Malta Independent on Sunday, Inspector Gafa explained the process the police follow when dealing with domestic violence cases.
When the victim makes a report, Appogg is informed and social workers are appointed to assess the situation. These social workers carry out a risk assessment using a set of questions and accordingly classify the result into high, medium or low risk.
If the assessment results in high risk, the police call the magistrate on duty, and the magistrate can issue a temporary protection order. However, the police must always take the aggressor to court.
Charges often also levied against the victim
The case, however, can be often be stopped at court, if the victim tells the magistrate she wants to drop the case. “This happens often. A lot of victims are doing this because till one goes to court it takes long, the court judgments may not be what they are expecting, and also charges may be levied against both the victim and aggressor.”
Gafa explained that if the victim insults the aggressor, for example, this is a criminal charge and for that, the victim is also accused. The aggressor’s charges may be more serious, but lawyers may advise that it is better to stop the case, as this means charges are also dropped for the victim.
If there are insults, the police have no choice but to issue charges against the victim, since insults and threats are listed in the Criminal Code. “The police would not be doing their job if the charges are not issued, in the same way as if the charges are not issued against the aggressor.”
Gafa said that if the victim is charged with insults and threats, the punishment will, of course, be very different from that of the aggressor but “for one reason or another, we need to find a solution to the problem that many domestic violence victims do not testify against the aggressor.”
Time between report and court case too long
The process to get to court is long, and “in our opinion, in cases of domestic violence, this time to get to court should be much shorter because the victims are often in shelters, or dependent on the aggressor.”
If the police deem that it is not safe that the aggressor is left free, an arrest can be made straight away. It is up to the police to decide if the aggressor should be arrested straight away, and then within 48 hours, taken to court. Otherwise, charges are issued by the court, which can take weeks or months. It is up to the magistrate to set the date for the court case.
Gafa explained that the police cannot issue a warrant for arrest for every aggressor, as the magistrate would not allow that all the cases of domestic violence be dealt with this way.
The magistrate, who is contacted when the situation is found to be of high risk, however can issue a temporary protection order. In the meantime, until the case goes to court, if a temporary protection order is issued, the aggressor cannot contact the victim and the victim can stay in their home while the aggressor is taken out.
High-risk cases are not usually the norm, Gafa explained, and several victims do not fall under the high-risk category. She added that those outside the high-risk category are still in the same situation, before the law is amended, whereby they do not have a temporary protection order.
Victim Support Unit
The Victim Support Unit helps those who would have made a report with the police. This Unit provides emotional support, information of the case, as well as follow-ups, depending on the victim’s need.
Some may need legal help, and they are referred to legal aid, and some may need support so they are referred to Appogg. Once the victim reports and are referred to the Unit, they are contacted within one or two days.
The Unit mostly deals with crisis management, especially as happened in serious cases such as when someone dies or is seriously injured. In cases, like this, and even murder cases, the Unit goes on-site to provide counselling to the family.
“Our resources are limited so we can't go physically in all cases. It depends on the case,” Gafa said.
Sylvana Gafa, an Inspector, and also a counsellor by profession, heads the Victim Support Unit.
The Unit also gives training to police officers, teaching them of the victims' rights, how they should deal with domestic violence cases. The training provides how a police officer should take a report of domestic violence until the case goes to court.
The Victim Support Unit can be reached on (+356) 22942160 or on [email protected]. This Unit is a single point of contact for victims of crime who come in contact with the police, and would require additional information and support.