A Mandurah police sergeant has been recognised for his work supporting victims of domestic violence at a State-wide awards ceremony.
Sgt Dan Tordoff was awarded at the WA Police Recognition of Excellence Awards on Thursday, receiving the Metropolitan Award for Operational Achievement for his work as co-ordinator of the Mandurah Family Violence Team.
Sgt Tordoff said he was in “utter shock” when the award was announced and described the gong as an honour.
He was among eight individuals and 10 teams recognised at the awards, including officers from the Kellerberrin police station who were acknowledged for their work during the deadly siege that rocked the Wheatbelt town last September.
Sgt Tordoff and his team provide “wraparound” support for victims of domestic violence, conducting home visits after an initial police response to ensure victims and children are safe.
“Once the dust is settled, we come in and we review them,” he said.
“We’re looking at, as a team, coming up with solutions and things that we can put in place to ensure the safety of that victim, so it very much is that focus on the victim.
“Our day-to-day is going out, visiting these families with Child Protection, with the CRS (co-ordinated response services) and trying to get some outcomes for these families so that they can leave these abusive relationships and live more productive lives, hopefully away from perpetrators of family violence.”
He said the volume of family violence incidents police attend in the Mandurah district — which covers a large area that includes everywhere from Wandi in the north to Lake Clifton in the south, and as far east as Dwellingup — made it the second busiest in the State, second only to the Kimberley.
But despite this, Sgt Tordoff said he believed family violence rates were not increasing but rather more awareness was resulting in more incidents being reported.
“I think we’re going through a bit of a transition here, where I think the general society in WA is actually starting to appreciate that family violence looks different,” he said.
“I think we’re going through a period of identifying that family violence isn’t just physical. In fact, some of the worst family violence is psychological.
“I think it’s always been there; we’re just starting to scratch the surface and actually identify it better than we ever have, and part of that is down to improved training in the police and teams like mine.”
Although headlines have been dominated by horrific domestic violence-related tragedies in recent weeks, including the Floreat shooting in which mother and daughter Jennifer and Gretl Petelczyc were killed, strides had been made in combatting the scourge, Sgt Tordoff said.
“When you look at the bigger picture, it’s really important to notice that we are changing, we are adapting and we are getting better as a society,” he said.
“It can be quite easy to point the finger at the police, but the whole community really needs to come together to tackle this problem.
“If anything, my two-and-a-half years in this role has taught me that we need to get as many different people involved to tackle this problem (as possible).
“We (police) play an important part in this fight against family violence, but we’re part of this bigger picture. We need to educate our kids better on what does a healthy relationship look like.
“By the time a perpetrator of family violence meets the police in their 20s or 30s, there’s a couple of decades there.
“That person would need some input to make sure that they’re a good human being, and they’re not caught into this perpetuation of violence.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing family violence, phone 1800 RESPECT or the Crisis Care Helpline on 1800 199 008.