Image: Rose Marinelli, Shutterstock
by KYE ANSON
More than 550 of the state’s most dangerous domestic violence offenders have been arrested and charged by NSW Police in their most recent crackdown on perpetrators.
Last Wednesday, NSW Police staged Operation Amarok VI, which ran until Saturday 18 May.
Police arrested a total of 554 offenders and laid 1,070 charges.
Of those arrested, 226 were wanted by police for serious domestic violence offences.
With domestic violence on the rise in Australia, Minister for Police and Counter Terrorism, Yasmin Catley has warned that perpetrators of domestic and family violence should expect serious consequences.
“Anyone who commits this heinous crime can expect a knock at their door,” she said.
Operation Amarok is just one part of the police response, she continued.
“Last year, almost 150,000 calls for assistance were made to the NSWPF for domestic violence-related matters.”
“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.”
Key findings from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare show that 1 in 4 women and 1 in 14 men have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner since the age of 15.
The beginning of operation came just a day after NSW Premier Chris Minns proposed new legislation regarding the bail threshold for domestic violence offenders.
Under the new legislation, it will be much more difficult for those accused of serious domestic violence offences to get bail.
Perpetrators accused of domestic violence crimes must “…present evidence to the NSW courts that they don’t represent an unacceptable risk to the community”, Minns said.
The premier also stated that people who are granted bail will be required to wear an ankle monitor, which will be fitted with a GPS in order to track these offenders.
The changes were announced after Molly Ticehurst’s death last month.
The 28-year-old woman from Forbes was allegedly murdered by a former partner while he was on bail. He had been granted bail by a court registrar, who is not a judge or magistrate.
As part of the new laws, changes to weekend courts will also ensure that bail decisions are made by magistrates and not court registrars.
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