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15 people have been arrested in the ACT and more in surrounding NSW following cross-border family violence enforcement operations by ACT Policing and New South Wales Police Force.
New South Wales Police Force’s Operation Amarok ran from 14 to 16 August and for the first time, targeted family violence offenders who lived in the ACT.
In conjunction, ACT Policing established Operation Shepherd to concurrently target family violence offenders in Canberra between 12 and 16 August.
Information sharing between the two agencies led to three men wanted by NSWPF being arrested in the ACT, and one man arrested in NSW and extradited to the ACT.
A further five people have been summonsed to appear before the ACT Magistrates Court for family violence related offending or breaches of orders or conditions.
Offenders who were subject to bail conditions and respondents to family violence orders were also subject to proactive compliance checks throughout the operation.
In Canberra, police seized two firearms, ammunition, several cannabis plants and other drug paraphernalia after arresting a 51-year-old man. He was also served with a family violence order.
Another man was arrested and charged with multiple offences after he allegedly assaulted his partner over the course of several years.
ACT Policing Detective Superintendent Kylie Lawson said the operations were an opportunity to put family violence offenders on notice.
“We take family violence seriously every day of the year but operations such as these allow us to pool our resources and information and target those people who have evaded police detection,” Det. Supt. Lawson said.
“We will also seek to continuously improve our response to family violence, to see if there are better ways we can share information with our partners to ensure that offenders are held to account no matter where they live, and victim-survivors are protected.”
Deputy Commissioner Regional NSW Field Operations Paul Pisanos said domestic and family violence can occur in any family or community.
“Police receive a domestic and family violence-related call every three minutes. Behind every call for help is a person experiencing fear and a family whose safety has been impacted,” Deputy Commissioner Pisanos said.
“But domestic and family violence is not just a policing issue. It is a whole-of-society issue and while police play a role, we all need to work together to reduce the scourge.
“If you hear or see something, report it to police. You can even do that confidentially through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.”