Reporting can be a very confronting prospect, but it is so important, not only from a judicial standpoint, but for your own health and well-being. Reporting can give you access to a wider range of services to help and protect you. Sometimes circumstances don’t allow you to be in a position to pursue legal action, and that is okay, you are in complete control of yourself and your future. Alternate reporting options are available and are valid options. It is strongly recommended, as it can lay the groundwork for you or potentially another victim to pursue action at a later date.
Unoffical Reporting
If you’re uncertain about your experience and aren’t sure if you want to involve authority at all, there are still small scale steps that you can take, it’s worth at the very least keeping a record of any sort of incident so that you have something to back up your own credibility.
Are there sympathetic and trustworthy authority figures available to you? Examples would be the station domestic, manager’s wife etc, those who are available and know the lay of the land but are not directly involved in between you and your harasser or likely to negatively affect your working conditions.
Sometimes a verbal recount may be all that you are comfortable with, but ideally you should provide a written statement that can be kept confidential and tucked away until it is later needed. Your identity doesn’t need to be recorded, and any action that may be taken regarding another employer’s behaviour does not need any involvement from you, including your name if the incident is mentioned.
Alternative Reporting Option
Alternative Reporting Option (ARO) provides an alternate option to a formal police complaint. There are many reasons for not officially reporting, the ARO gives survivors the opportunity to provide police with the full details of their assault – with the option of remaining anonymous if they wish. ARO does not involve any judicial (legal) process, but can still be a very effective investigative strategy for law enforcement agencies. Police can use this information to assist other prosecutions against an already established offender; and protect the community by enabling police to devise intelligence driven strategies designed to target offenders and reduce repeat offences.
Information received via the ARO is completely confidential and recorded on a secure and restricted Police Force database. There are two avenues, through either NSW or QLD police services.
There is no time restriction on filing a report, the incident could hav happened a number of years ago, the information can still have significant value.
The form has 3 sections to fill out:
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Gathers information on the person making the disclosure
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Who may choose to remain anonymous
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Records any details about the offender
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Anything about the incident itself
Some questions may seem personal or irrelevant, the information may help in identifying repeat offenders but all responses are optional so you may skip a question if you are not comfortable answering.
Please note that completing this form may be challenging as you will be asked to remember in detail what happened, please prioritise your own welfare first. You might have a support person with you, or if you would like to make contact with a councillor please find resources here.
