Systemic changes urged after mass stabbing revelations
Revelation of faults that led to a mass murder at a horrific shopping mall has put pressure on authorities to prevent such an incident from happening again.
Joel Cauchi, 40, was experiencing psychotic symptoms and was armed with a hunting knife when he killed six people and injured 10 in April 2024.
Jade Young, 47, Dawn Singleton, 25, Ashlee Good, 38, Pikria Darchia, 55, Yixuan Cheng, 27, and security guard Faraz Tahir, 30, were killed at Bondi Junction Westfield in Sydney’s east.
On Thursday, coroner Teresa O’Sullivan released her findings into the shortcomings that led to the tragic incident.
This included a major failure by Cauchi’s psychiatrist, who neglected to properly follow up after he stopped taking antipsychotics.
The coroner also identified more systemic problems, such as difficulties tracking those with mental illness who had no place to stay and inadequate psychiatric guidelines for canceling medication prescriptions for patients.
The coroner made 23 separate recommendations to the NSW government, NSW Police and other official bodies.
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists has committed to following the coroner’s recommendations to strengthen mental health treatment and care.
“We must be clear: under-resourced, fragmented systems increase the likelihood of vulnerable people falling through the cracks, with significant consequences for themselves, their families and wider society,” university president Astha Tomar said.
The NSW government has been called on to improve mental health support services and accommodation for those without shelter.
Prime Minister Chris Minns refrained from making any promises, saying the government would consider the recommendations carefully.
“We will now seek to implement measures that will strengthen our mental health system and community safety.”
Scentre Group, which was criticized for leaving an inadequate security guard unattended in the CCTV control room during the attack, has also failed to commit to following Ms O’Sullivan’s suggestions.
Instead, a spokesperson said the company would review the investigation report and that safety was a top priority.
NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon took a similar stance, saying police should conduct a full review of the coroner’s findings.
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