Police have arrested and charged more than 420 people with serious domestic violence offences, during a four-day high-visibility and saturation operation targeting the state’s most dangerous and high-risk domestic violence offenders.
Operation Amarok IV, an intelligence-based policing strategy led by each region’s Domestic Violence High-Risk Offender Teams (DVHROT), ran from Wednesday (11 October 2023) until Saturday (14 October 2023) and involved officers from all police area commands and police districts in NSW, as well as various proactive and specialist units.
During this operation, 421 people were arrested, and in addition to domestic violence-related offences, various other serious offences were detected – including prohibited firearm and weapon possession, drug possession and supply – with a total of 768 charges laid.
Of those arrested, 109 were identified amongst NSW’s most dangerous domestic violence offenders and 65 had outstanding warrants for violent offences.
Over the four days, police engaged with high-risk domestic violence offenders on 2,755 occasions, made 292 applications for Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders (ADVOs), served 403 outstanding ADVOs, completed 4,828 ADVO compliance checks and 1,071 bail compliance checks.
Officers also conducted 98 Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPOs) searches at properties linked to those who are subject to FPOs. Officers also seized 29 firearms and 13 prohibited weapons, as well as various types of illicit drugs located with 57 detections.
This operation saw the culmination of four high-visibility operations under the Amarok model. In total, police arrested 2,333 offenders, and laid more than 4,185 charges. Officers seized 95 firearms, 150 weapons, completed 19,082 ADVO compliance checks, and 5,567 DV bail compliance checks.
NSW Police Corporate Sponsor for Domestic and Family Violence, Deputy Commissioner Mal Lanyon, said the strategy behind Operation Amarok is working.
“Our persistent targeting of the most dangerous domestic violence offenders is effective – we have arrested more than 2000 high-risk perpetrators, with more than half remaining behind bars remanded in custody,” Deputy Commissioner Lanyon said.
“14 women have lost their lives in NSW in the past year as a result of domestic and family violence. There is no excuse for this – these offenders pose a significant threat to victims, to family members, to other members of the community.
“Police must continue the tactics employed by our high-risk offender teams to target these people, the seriousness of their crimes must not be understated.
“Operation Amarok is just one element of the NSW Police Force’s overhaul of how we respond to and prevent domestic and family violence. Whilst focusing on perpetrators is one important aspect, a focus must always be on the health and well-being of victims.
“Since its introduction earlier this year, the ‘Empower You’ app has been downloaded by more than 6,000 users, on both Apple and Android devices. It has also been deployed to more than 13,000 NSW Police handheld devices for officers to use and recommend to victims or users in the field.
“This is not the end of Operation Amarok – the NSW Police Force will continue to battle the perception that domestic and family violence is private business. We all have a part to play in stopping the senseless loss of life due to this crime.”
Information about the NSW Police Force response to domestic and family violence, can be found online: https://www.police.nsw.gov.au/crime/domestic_and_family_violence.
Victims of domestic and family violence can find information about support services by contacting 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or visiting: https://www.1800respect.org.au.
Reports of domestic and family-related crime or abuse can be made by contacting or attending your local police station. In an emergency, contact Triple Zero (000).
Anyone with information relating to domestic and family-related violence is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report information via NSW Police social media pages.
