Opening the door on police’s duty of care
This article, 'Opening the door on police's duty of care', by Yusur Al-Azzawi, first appeared in Precedent, the journal of the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA), issue 153, July/August 2019, pp22-6. It has been reproduced with the kind permission of both the author and the ALA.
Smith v State of Victoria [2018] VSC 475
The Plaintiffs in this application are a mother and three children. They were the victims of multiple acts of family violence by the children’s father over the course of a decade. The Plaintiffs allege that Victoria Police officers owed the family a duty of care and that the police subsequently breached that duty, causing the Plaintiffs psychological harm. The Plaintiffs also allege that Victoria Police acted contrary to its obligations as a public authority and in doing so, breached the family’s human rights.
