Queensland Police Service (QPS) senior officers have undertaken specialist domestic and family violence training with Griffith University.
The University’s Motivating Action Through Empowerment (MATE) Bystander Program is designed to respectfully challenge problematic behaviour, encouraging bystanders to be leaders in the prevention of violence in their communities.
Assistant Commissioner of the Domestic, Family Violence and Vulnerable Persons Command for the QPS, Brian Codd (pictured) said the participation of police in the Program was valuable in empowering officers to identify and address the full spectrum of problematic behaviour.
“Domestic and family violence, which includes coercive control, is incredibly complex,” Assistant Commissioner Codd said.
“The role our officers can play in the prevention of domestic and family violence is examined in great detail both internally and externally,” he said.
“Working closely with sector specialists and academics is incredibly important to ensure that we are considering the latest research and best practice in our training and response.”
Assistant Commissioner Codd said the MATE Program was well respected and would assist District Officers in continued learning on this constantly evolving issue.
“The ultimate goal is to enhance the way we prevent, disrupt, respond to and investigate domestic and family violence in our communities,” he said.
“Our officers can then bring the learnings from this Program back to their communities and further empower the police under their command to raise awareness of issues such as coercive control, which far too often leads to further significant harmful and abusive behaviour.”
Assistant Commissioner Codd said the QPS was always looking for programs like MATE to further police officers’ understanding of how to identify and address both physical and coercive violence within domestic relationships.
