NSW Police arrest 554 of the state’s most dangerous offenders in a four-day domestic violence blitz

NSW Police have arrested more than 550 individuals during a four-day operation in a major crackdown on domestic and family violence.

Operation Amarok VI, which ran from Wednesday to Saturday, was a coordinated effort involving every police area command and district across New South Wales.

The operation was led by the Domestic and Family Violence Registry and assisted by the Domestic Violence High Risk Offenders Team (DVHROT) in each region, along with specialist officers from the Raptor Squad, Youth Command, Traffic & Highway Patrol Command, and the Police Transport Command.

Over the course of the operation, 554 offenders were arrested and a total of 1070 charges were laid. Significantly, 226 of those arrested were already wanted by police for serious domestic violence offences.

Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism Yasmin Catley said: “These results show how seriously the NSW Police Force take domestic and family violence - this abhorrent behaviour is not tolerated.”

“Anyone who commits this heinous crime can expect a knock at their door,” Ms Catley continued.

“Operation Amarok is just one part of the police response.

“Last year, almost 150,000 calls for assistance were made to the NSW Police 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.”

Deputy Commissioner Peter Thurtell, NSW Police Executive Sponsor for Domestic and Family Violence, said: “These offenders pose a significant threat to their victims, as well as family members and the wider community.”

Mr Thurtell also noted the extensive reach of the operation, with significant arrest numbers in regional communities and even arrests for offences allegedly committed 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,” he added.

The operation also resulted in the engagement of 548 offenders classified as dangerous, 122 firearm prohibition order compliance searches completed, 1277 bail compliance checks with 144 breaches detected, and 422 Apprehended domestic violence orders served.