Lake Illawarra police are cracking down on high-risk domestic violence offenders as many families stay at home during the COVID-19 pandemic
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In the district, more than 128 apprehended violence order compliance checks have been conducted since the start of April as part of operation Making Families Safer, which saw an increase in offenders being caught.
The blitz aims to reduce and prevent domestic violence in the southern region as part of the NSW Police Force's continued commitment to tackling domestic and family violence.
Domestic violence operatives from Lake Illawarra Police District, assisted by specialist police from the Southern Region's Domestic Violence High Risk Offender Team, Proactive Crime Team and Region Enforcement Squad and general duties police have been involved in the operation.
Police are closely monitoring the rates of domestic violence offending, and now have the ability to immediately increase the protective conditions of an existing apprehended violence order.
Police also have new legislative ability to extend the length of a provisional apprehended domestic violence order from 28 days up to a maximum of six months when required.
Of note, Lake Illawarra Police District conducted more than 200 proactive domestic violence-related taskings, with more than half being apprehended violence order compliance checks.
On April 4, police attended a Lake Heights home for an ADVO compliance check and charged a 45-year-old Shellharbour man with five counts of breaching the order, a telecommunications offence and breach of bail.
On April 9, Lake Illawarra Police attended a Berkeley address for an ADVO compliance check and arrested a 19-year-old man who was prohibited from attending the address. He was subsequently charged with breach ADVO.
Lake Illawarra Police District Commander, Superintendent Dean Smith, said despite the current pandemic, police would continue to exercise zero tolerance towards domestic violence.
"Our officers are actively knocking on the doors of those known to police to keep perpetrators accountable for their actions and to show support for victims who often find themselves in vulnerable situations," Supt Smith said.
"We understand and appreciate that these are trying times - but that does not change the fact that domestic violence is a criminal offence, and we're not just talking about physical assaults; it includes verbal, psychological, mental and emotional abuse.
"Offenders who want to breach orders or continue their poor behaviour will be charged and put before the courts. This operation had some great results."
If you, or someone you know, is experiencing domestic or family violence, multiple services are available to provide immediate support:
- 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) is a confidential information, counselling and support service;
- NSW Domestic Violence Line (1800 65 64 63) is a statewide telephone crisis counselling and referral service for women;
- Men's Referral Service (1300 766 491) provide telephone counselling, information and referrals for men;
- Link2Home (1800 152 152) can help refer women experiencing domestic violence to crisis accommodation;
- Lifeline (13 11 14) is a national charity providing all Australians experiencing a personal crisis with access to 24-hour crisis support and suicide prevention services.
