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Winning duo
beat the heat
■ Rochester Secondary
College students Georgia
Wickham (left) and Paige
Crouch won the Murray River
Culinary Challenge regional
final. Report, page 2.
Photo: Holly Curtis
Bid to end cycle
New approach to curb domestic violence
By ELAINE COONEY
Rochester police are working
towards prevention rather than
intervention in their bid to curb
domestic violence in the region.
Sergeant Dale Simm said the team
was visiting homes where they were
aware of problems such as alcoholism,
drug addiction, gambling, family
feuds and financial difficulty and
trying to find appropriate help before it
led to domestic violence.
He said all of these elements were
‘‘contributory factors’’ to domestic
violence from his experience in the
police force.
Sgt Simm said if a member of the
community told him about a family
problem, he would visit and provide
them with information about a facility
called Support Link which helps with
numerous domestic issues.
Police enter a family’s details and
issues into the Support Link system
which automatically notifies appropri-
ate agencies — which in turn contact
the family with helpful information.
Sgt Simm said the service was
trialled in Mildura, and Rochester
began using the approach last month.
Senior Constable Steve Dempsey
was in favour of the new approach and
said trying to help people in a
challenging situation was much easier
for everyone involved — including
police — than dealing with an un-
favourable aftermath.
He said the station dealt with 15
reported cases of domestic violence
this year, which was just a drop in the
ocean compared to state-wide figures.
He said there was usually a long
history of emotional abuse in the home
by the time a family assault happened.
Sen. Constable Dempsey said a
common scene he had witnessed in his
26 years in Rochester was emotional
and financial abuse by men against
their female partners.
He said he had seen two cases of a
female dominating a male partner.
Sen. Constable Dempsey said finan-
cial abuse could include a husband not
giving his wife to go shopping.
He said when police spoke to
female victims, a common response
would be ‘‘he only hits me once a
week’’.
‘‘I tell them ‘that’s not normal’,’’ he
said.
He said the male perpetrator often
did not understand he had committed a
crime.
Sen Constable Dempsey said viol-
ence was often cyclical and passed
from generation to generation.
‘‘We need to break that cycle,’’ he
said.
■ If you need assistance with any of
the issues here, contact the Rochester
police on 5484 1100, The Centre for
Non-Violence in Bendigo on
5430 3000 or Lifeline on 131 114.
Murray electorate candidates ~ pages 8-9