VIC Intervention Order - Melbourne Magistrates Court and Victoria Police

[osslotto]

Yesterday, I took an Intervention Order on a neighbour (of shared house). The Melbourne Magistrates Court told the criminal he is not to go into the kitchen when I'm in there, he must wait until I'm gone. This goes for any communal room, the judge said. This was also printed on his Intervention Order.

But today he breached that order and did go in the kitchen while I was in there, so I called the police as I was instructed by my Duty Barrister who spoke with the judge. When Victoria Police arrived they said to me 'do not call us again if he breaches this Intervention Order.' Is this normal in Australia/Victoria? They did not exactly use those words, but that is what they were trying to say!

 

[Ponala]

They were trying to fob u off. Your IVO is a hard one to enforce and prove breaches of. How do you keep someone out of a kitchen/communal area in a share house. It is open for abuse by the protected person (not to say you would), never leave the kitchen and he can't come in. Even if they were to take ur report of the breach, they would have a hard time proving it, your word against his.

 

[AllForHer]

Agree with the above. I don't think the police were fobbing you off for all intervention orders, just the one about being in the kitchen because realistically, how are you going to prove to beyond reasonable doubt that he entered the kitchen while you were there? They could charge him, no worries, but they must also assess whether the input of police time and resources is likely to actually result in him being convicted, and he-said-she-said evidence won't stand up in court.