Bay deaths caused by family violence

Bay of Plenty police have reviewed 16 family violence-related deaths caused by family violence, figures released today have revealed.

Local police have investigated the most number of family violence-related dealths of all the regions, a police report showed.

Bay police have investigated the deaths of 16 people between 2004 and September 2011.

This figure was the highest of all other regions in New Zealand, including Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, which had 10, 9 and 6 respectively.

Figures do not include all family violence deaths during 2004 to September 2009, but relate to cases where a Family Violence Death Review (FVDR) was carried out.

The central region had the second highest number of death investigations as a result of a family violence review, with 11.

Ninety five police FVDRs into 101 deaths were included in the report.

Of the deaths, 33 were of children and 68 were adults. Fifty-six of the victims were female and 45 were male.

The proportion of men, women and child deaths was almost a third for each.

FVDR statistics showed adult males were more commonly killed by people outside of their immediate family (not people they lived with) while women and children were most commonly killed by people who lived in the same house.

Children were more often killed by their mothers than any other group of suspects.

National Crime Manager Detective Superintendent Rod Drew said family violence death reviews provided police and other agencies with valuable information about the circumstances surrounding family violence deaths.

"Police are first on the scene of a family violence death, we carry out the investigation and we are in a unique position to examine the events leading up to the death''.

"The aim of every review is to prevent the same set of circumstances leading to tragedy for other families'' Mr Drew said.

FVDRs have been in place since 2004, this is the first time data from the reviews has been brought together in a report.


Other key findings of the report revealed:

* 81 percent of female victims and 29 percent of male victims were killed as a result of partner violence

* 45 percent of  the child victims were killed by their mothers

* In 64 percent of all cases there was prior police involvement with the family

* In 55 percent of child deaths there was prior police involvement with the family

* The majority of the suspect/offenders were aged between 20 and 29.