Welcome to Ross

Domestic Violence is Unacceptable!

We would like to welcome Senior Sergeant Ross Patching to the Crime Prevention Unit, joining us as the new State Domestic Violence Program Coordinator. Ross is taking over from Acting Senior Sergeant Leslie Hamilton who has done an outstanding job over the past year.

The mission of the Domestic Violence Program is to serve the people of Queensland by employing domestic and family violence policing strategies that support and enhance service delivery to all persons affected by domestic and family violence. The program relies upon the cooperation and collaboration of Government and community organisations to function effectively.

One of the key goals of the DV Program is to raise awareness across agencies and community groups of how police can contribute to domestic and family issues, specific to the needs of individuals and groups. This includes providing education and training to staff to increase their knowledge and understanding of domestic and family violence issues, and skills in responding to same.

Statistics have shown that since the DV legislation was enacted in Queensland in 1989 there have been over 152,000 DV protection applications resulting in excess of 106,000 protection orders. In the last year alone there were 14,697 applications resulting in 10,505 orders. The fact that so many applications are still being made is an indication of growing public awareness that domestic violence is unacceptable. Recent amendments to the legislation to include family violence is likely to further increase these figures.

There are numerous police personnel performing the roles of Regional, District and Station Domestic Violence Liaison Officers, and without such sterling work the DV program would fail to function. The role of State Domestic Violence Program Coordinator is to assist and coordinate programs and policies, provide advice and coordinate training to allow these staff the most efficient and effective domestic violence handling procedures.

For further information contact Senior Sergeant Ross Patching on 3234 2120 or by email at Please call us using one of the numbers listed below.