00:00This isn't the first time Billie O'Keefe's story has appeared in the media, but it is
00:08the first time she's told her own story.
00:11The former Alice Springs resident sat down with the ABC to share her experience of reporting
00:16her former partner, a current serving police officer, for alleged domestic violence in
00:22March 2020.
00:23For two years, police failed to investigate, and when they eventually did, the case never
00:28made it to court due to procedural bungles by police prosecutors.
00:33To have sorry in four, five, six different types of internal investigations, it's not
00:40a mistake.
00:41Today, neither the NT Police Commissioner nor the NT Minister for Police, Leah Finocchiaro,
00:46were available for on-camera interviews, but at a press conference, police reiterated their
00:52commitment to tackling domestic violence.
00:54What we have to do as a police force is acknowledge that we don't always get things right.
00:59But what I can say is since that time, we have created an entire domestic family violence
01:05and youth portfolio.
01:06In 2022, a senior detective publicly acknowledged failings by NT Police in dealing with alleged
01:13cases of domestic violence, and announced a review into how the force deals with such
01:18complaints.
01:20We asked NT Police leadership and the NT Police Minister for an update on that review, but
01:26no new information was provided.
01:28Those working in the sector say Billie's case reflects deeper issues.
01:33If this is the experience of this woman, then what about the women who identify as Aboriginal
01:38Torres Strait Islander?
01:40What about the women who are culturally and linguistically diverse, who have mental health
01:43conditions, who are incarcerated?
01:46Survivors contend without adequate resourcing for frontline responders and specialist legal
01:51services, more women will fall through the gaps.
01:55It's not that it rests with one step, one process, one person, unfortunately there are
02:01so many vulnerabilities throughout the system where we can see that something goes wrong
02:08and the victim survivor is not protected.
02:11How many other women have just given up on the process because the whole system has let
02:20them down?
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