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Bromley said while anything that made victims safer was welcome, monitoring of such devices was resource intensive and their alarms could be abused to intimidate or control victims by being intentionally activated within their earshot.
“It can give the perception of safety, but if there isn’t the resources for police to respond, they are not really safer at all.”
Brian Earl Johnston, who brutally murdered estranged wife Kelly Wilkinson on the Gold Coast in 2021, was subject to a DVO.
But that did not stop him repeatedly stabbing Wilkinson before setting her on fire in the backyard of her home while her children were inside. Kelly’s sister, Danielle Carroll, said a GPS monitor on Johnston could have saved her life.
“Having monitoring on perpetrators offers another level of safety for any person going through domestic violence,” she said. “In Kelly’s case, she was in her family home. Brian was hiding in the bushes for nearly three hours.
“If she had an opportunity to know he was close, I know she would be sitting next to me now. It really is the difference between life and death.”
During Thursday’s leaders’ debate, Crisafulli said he would resign his premiership before the 2028 election if the total number of crime victims – which he has previously been referring to while talking about youth crime – did not decrease on his watch.
“We are serious about that, but across the board, we have to have a situation where there are fewer victims,” he said on Friday, promising a minister for open data would ensure real-time public “accountability metrics”.
But speaking at a media conference in Caloundra on Friday, Premier Steven Miles questioned Crisafulli’s dedication to the pledge. “As if he actually intends to keep that commitment,” he said.
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“He is saying that to get through the election campaign, then he knows he’ll have four years to find ways to weasel out of it.”
Queensland Courts data shows 27,857 DVO applications were made in the last financial year, with 4363 so far in 2024-25 (to August 31). Of this year’s cases, 74.9 per cent were against men in heterosexual relationships.
The number of DV-related assaults recorded by police almost tripled year-on-year to 22,293 in 2021-22 after police began recording all offences associated with DV incidents.
The majority of work carried out by police relates to domestic or sexual violence.
If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
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