Hundreds charged in high-risk DV blitz
Hundreds of people have been charged during a four-day police blitz targeting some of NSW’s alleged most dangerous domestic and family violence offenders.
The NSW Police-run Operation Amarok VI drew in officers from every police area command and district in the state during the blitz, which ran from Wednesday to Saturday.
554 alleged offenders were arrested and charged with a total of 1070 charges.
A NSW Police spokesman said 226 of those arrested were wanted by police for alleged serious domestic violence offences.
Some of the most significant arrests include a man, 55, who has been charged with the alleged assault of a 62-year-old woman in Port Macquarie on April 24.
He will front Port Macquarie Local Court on June 5 on charges of stalk/intimidate intend fear physical etc harm (domestic), destroy or damage property (DV) and common assault (DV).
Another 53-year-old man from West Kempsey was charged after allegedly brandishing an imitation firearm to threaten the woman during an argument on May 15.
Officers searched the home and located and seized the aforementioned weapon along with an amount of cannabis.
He was taken to Kempsey Police Station and charged with multiple offences, fronting Kempsey Local Court the following day.
On Thursday, a 32-year-old woman was charged with assaulting another woman, 37, at West Kempsey about 10.30am.
She was refused bail and will return to court on September 11 on charges of common assault and contravene prohibition / restriction in AVO.
In the state’s west, a 23-year-old woman was arrested after allegedly stabbing a relative about 2.30am on May 17.
A 37-year-old woman received multiple stab wounds to the abdomen, head, and back and was taken to a local hospital where police were called. She was later flown to the Royal Adelaide Hospital in a critical condition.
The younger woman was charged with wound person intend cause grievous bodily harm and was refused bail to appear in Dubbo Local Court on May 18.
Police and counter-terrorism Minister Yasmin Catley said the operation sent a “strong message” to alleged perpetrators of domestic and family violence.
“Last year, almost 150,000 calls for assistance were made to the NSWPF for domestic violence-related matters,” she said.
“Anyone who commits this heinous crime can expect a knock at their door.”
“This shows the severity of the situation, the huge amount of police time and resources that go into addressing this epidemic and how important it is for prevention, early intervention and crisis support services to work together.”
In addition to the 1070 charges, officers conducted 1277 bail compliance checks - with 144 breaches detected - and served 422 Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders (ADVOs).
There were another 122 Firearm Prohibition Order (FPO) compliance searches.
NSW Police Executive Sponsor for Domestic and Family Violence, Deputy Commissioner Peter Thurtell, said Operation Amarok allowed police to conduct a targeted blitz of those who have been flagged as the worst domestic violence offenders.
“These offenders pose a significant threat to their victims, as well as family members and the wider community,” he said.
“We demonstrated last week that we will target and arrest the offenders no matter where they are located. We saw significant arrest numbers in our regional communities, and we also saw arrests for offences that occurred allegedly while the offender was in jail.
“These Amarok VI results send a powerful message to offenders, and the community at large, that we do not tolerate domestic and family violence in any form, and our efforts will continue.”
