An internal review of ACT Policing's delayed response to an alleged unprovoked attack on two young children has found the matter was not "appropriately triaged or prioritised".
It comes after The Canberra Times reported the mother of the boys, aged two and four, was walking with her children on the top floor of Westfield Belconnen when an unknown man allegedly approached them, knocked them over and kicked one of the boys.
As a result of the incident reported on Friday, August 14, the toddler is said to have broken his nose while his elder brother had head injuries.
The mother also told this masthead she was shocked she had not heard from police until two days later on August 16.
Police have since "unreservedly" apologised to the mother and admitted their response was not in line with what the community expected. On August 16, a police spokesperson said an 18-year-old man had been arrested in McKellar and charged in relation to the alleged assaults.
ACT Policing said it undertook an internal practices review of its response to the alleged assaults and revealed the outcome of the review in a public statement on Friday, August 28.
"The practices review was finalised on Saturday, 22 August 2026 and found the matter was not appropriately triaged or prioritised, and therefore did not receive the timely police response it warranted," the statement said.
Police said the review identified opportunities to improve training and operational call-taking processes within their communications centre, especially in the "assessment, escalation and prioritisation" of incidents.
As a result of the review findings, the statement said ACT Policing had begun working on improving its response to urgent calls for help.
Police said they received two triple zero calls reporting the incident on August 14, and an investigation was initiated on August 16 after which the alleged offender was arrested.
The 18-year-old man was charged with one count of common assault and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in the ACT Magistrates Court on Monday, 17 August 2026.
The court heard he was a "very, very vulnerable" man who appears to target people who cannot defend themselves.
The man, who cannot be named because of a suppression order, is yet to enter pleas to both charges and was refused bail to reappear in court next month.
