The Australian Federal Police Association (AFPA) supports the introduction of coercive control legislation in the ACT, as outlined in the private member bill introduced by Canberra Liberals Deputy Leader Leanne Castley and Shadow Attorney-General Peter Cain.
AFPA President Alex Caruana said coercive control legislation was sorely needed as rates of family and domestic violence continued to climb in the ACT.
“Coercive control is abhorrent and insidious; stronger legislation is needed to combat it, and we welcome the private members bill from the Canberra Liberals. Statistically, we believe that coercive control offences are
under-represented and under-reported in the ACT as there is no specific offence defined for this type of crime. While we acknowledge that elements of coercive control can be addressed by the current legislation, we strongly believe that it needs to be recognised as a standalone offence,” Mr Caruana said.
Mr Caruana said that ACT Policing would need more funding and resources to investigate coercive control offences.