THE area's police believe they are making a difference when it comes to stamping out domestic violence in the region.
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Officers from throughout the Murrumbidgee Police District, including from Leeton and Griffith, were recently involved in a two-month operation that targeted domestic violence offences.
The Southern Region Domestic Violence Compliance Operation - Making Families Safer - started on April 1, finishing on May 31.
In this time, police conducted 171 checks in Griffith and 80 in Leeton.
All up in the Murrumbidgee District, 485 apprehended violence order compliance checks were completed.
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All of these were done in person, with Murrumbidgee Police District crime co-ordinator Sergeant Cherie Knox saying the operation checked on both high-risk domestic violence victims, as well as offenders.
"This was right in the middle of COVID-19 when everyone was required to stay home, so it was a high-risk period for domestic violence," Sergeant Knox said.
"It was all about doing in-person checks on repeat offenders and victims.
"It's been extremely successful. It was timely to do it over this COVID-19 period."
At the peak of the coronavirus crisis, figures from the state government's Victims Services program revealed an increase in both male and female victims turning to front-line services after domestic violence.
As a result of their checks, Murrumbidgee police detected 38 breaches of apprehended violence orders during April and 25 in May.
Murrumbidgee Police District Commander, Superintendent Craig Ireland said police would continue to work to prevent and educate when it comes to domestic violence.
"Domestic violence is not acceptable, and our local police will continue to work hard to assist victims and ensure that offenders are held to account," he said.
Another similar operation is expected to be held later in the year.
If you, or someone you know, is experiencing domestic or family violence, multiple services are available to provide immediate support.
WHERE TO SEEK HELP
- 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.
- If you are in danger or in an emergency, always contact Triple Zero (000).