Three people in the Port Macquarie and Kempsey areas have been arrested for domestic violence offences over the weekend.
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The arrests were part of a four-day police operation targeting domestic violence.
Across the state, 550 people were charged.
In Port Macquarie, a 55-year-old man has been charged following the alleged assault on a 62-year-old woman at a residence on Mitchell Circuit on Wednesday, April 24.
Following inquiries, officers attached to the Mid North Coast Police District attended a residence on Church Street, Port Macquarie about 12.45pm on Wednesday, May 15 where they arrested the 55-year-old man.
He was taken to Port Macquarie Police Station where he was charged with stalk/intimidate intend fear physical etc harm (domestic), destroy or damage property (DV) and common assault (DV). He was granted conditional bail to appear before Port Macquarie Local Court on Wednesday, June 5.
A 53-year-old man was arrested in West Kempsey following an alleged domestic assault.
About 12.50pm on May 15 it was alleged the man and a 47-year-old woman had an argument inside a home on Colin Tait Avenue, West Kempsey.
During the argument, it's alleged the man used an imitation firearm to threaten the woman before police were called.
Officers from the Mid North Coast Police District searched the home and located and seized an imitation firearm along with an amount of cannabis.
He was taken to Kempsey Police Station and charged.
He was bail refused and appeared at Kempsey Local Court on May 16.
A 32-year-old woman has been charged following the alleged assault of a 37-year-old woman at a residence on Leith Street, West Kempsey.
About 10.30am on Thursday, May 16 officers attached to the Coffs Harbour Domestic Violence High Risk Offender Team, arrested the woman and took her to Kempsey Police Station where she was charged with common assault and contravene prohibition/restriction in AVO.
She was refused bail to appear before Kempsey Local Court on Thursday, May 16 where she was formally refused bail to appear before the same court on Wednesday, September 11.
High number of DV cases
Liberty Domestic & Family Violence Specialist Service has been working across the Mid North Coast region to support local women and children experiencing domestic and family violence for over 44 years.
Liberty received 110 referrals in January and February of this year. That's more than two calls for help each working day.
Port Macquarie MP and Shadow Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse in NSW and the Shadow Minister for Women, Leslie Williams, said earlier this month that domestic violence statistics are "sobering".
"We know that a single act of violence, be it physical, sexual, or coercive can last a lifetime," she said.
"These acts impact victim-survivors, their friends and family and our wider community."
State-wide operation
Operation Amarok VI ran from Wednesday to Saturday (May 15 to 18), involving every police area command and district across the state.
The Domestic and Family Violence Registry led Operation Amarok VI, which also involved officers from each region's Domestic Violence High Risk Offenders Team (DVHROT), along with specialist officers from Raptor Squad, Youth Command, Traffic & Highway Patrol Command, and the Police Transport Command.
During the four-day operation, police arrested 554 offenders and laid a total of 1070 charges.
Significantly, 226 of those arrested were wanted by police for serious domestic violence offences.
The Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism Yasmin Catley says Operation Amarok sends a strong message to perpetrators of domestic and family violence.
"These results show how seriously the NSW Police Force take domestic and family violence - this abhorrent behaviour is not tolerated," she said.
"Anyone who commits this heinous crime can expect a knock at their door.
NSW Police Executive Sponsor for Domestic and Family Violence, Deputy Commissioner Peter Thurtell, said the results of Operation Amarok VI demonstrate the Force's commitment to tackling domestic violence and arresting offenders.
"NSW Police officers respond to incidents of domestic and family violence every single day, and Operation Amarok enables police statewide to conduct a targeted blitz of those who have been flagged as the worst domestic violence offenders," he said.
Other results from Operation Amarok VI include the engagement of 548 offenders classified as dangerous; 122 Firearm Prohibition Order (FPO) compliance searches, 1277 bail compliance checks conducted with 144 breaches detected, and 422 Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders (ADVOs) served.
