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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-09-24 Daily Xml
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POLICE RESPONSE

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK (14:49): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Correctional Services, representing the Minister for Police, a question about the police response to an assault by a security guard.

Leave granted.

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: I have been contacted by a constituent who was assaulted and intimidated on the dance floor at the Highway Inn by a group of men unknown to her on the night of Saturday 23 August. She fought back, but a very large and tall security guard who came from behind grabbed her right wrist and pulled it up between her shoulder blades. He made no attempt to determine the circumstances of the conflict; nor did he give her an opportunity to leave voluntarily.

Instead, what he did was force her to leave the premises, all the while maintaining that grip. He was holding her up so high that she was forced to walk on her toes. When she told him that it was hurting her shoulder and asked him to release the grip, his response, in fact, was to yank her hand up higher. She subsequently has been told by a friend who was with her at the hotel that, when the guard came back in, he was smiling and said, 'Why do I always have to be the one to kick the girls out?'

My constituent rang the police to report the assault by the security guard. They came, took a description from her, went inside for a while, came back out and told her to get on her way. She continued to experience shoulder pain all weekend and, as soon as she could, she made an appointment with the local doctor. She has had an ultrasound which has shown that the bursa and tendons in her right shoulder are inflamed.

She was very unhappy with the way the police treated her in such an offhand way, so she also lodged a report with the police, but last week she received a phone call in which they said that the security guard had admitted to restraining her and removing her from the premises, even admitting that he had held her wrist up between her shoulder blades but said that he did not use excessive force. She was also told that security footage from the hotel was too blurred to confirm what happened. When she told the police officer about the inflammation in her shoulder, the police officer replied to her that she could have got the injury some other way.

My constituent is very upset that the security guard was believed and that she was not and that the police have subsequently implied that she is lying about her shoulder injury. She is understandably angry that, at all stages, she has been treated as the transgressor, and no one else has been held accountable.

She points out that she was the person who was originally assaulted and, although she retaliated in self-defence, at all times she was the one most disadvantaged in terms of surprise, numbers and physical strength. My questions are:

1. Why did police officers not take a statement from my constituent outside the venue?

2. What sort of message will this police inaction give about violence towards women to the security guard who assaulted my constituent?

3. Why have police chosen to believe the word of the security guard and not the woman who was injured by him, and did the police actually view the security camera footage themselves?

4. What compensation might my constituent be able to access to pay for the necessary medical bills arising out of the security guard's action, and what other action can my constituent now take to gain some sense of justice?

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Road Safety, Minister for Gambling, Minister Assisting the Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (14:53): I thank the honourable member for her question in relation to an alleged assault and the police response.

The Hon. P. Holloway: Alleged police response.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: And the alleged—

The Hon. Sandra Kanck: You are doing exactly the same thing, believing the—

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: I said 'alleged assault' and 'alleged police response'.

The Hon. P. Holloway: You believe everything. If a constituent comes to you it must be true—everything they said.

The PRESIDENT: Order! The honourable minister is answering the question.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: Thank you, Mr President. I was saying 'alleged assault' and 'alleged police response' in relation to an incident involving a security guard. I will refer those questions to the Minister for Police in another place and bring back a response for the honourable member.

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