Hundreds charged with DV offences in four-day blitz across NSW

More than 750 people have been charged with domestic violence offences, as support services say they are desperate for funding to match the strong police response. Under Operation Amarok XII, NSW Police laid more than 1,600 charges and executed more than 270 arrest warrants between November 12 and 15. The operation was led by the Domestic and Family Violence Command alongside specialist officers. Woman rescued from river In one case, Auburn Police Area Command officers rescued a woman from the Parramatta River at Sydney's Wentworth Point. Police said the woman had allegedly jumped into the river to escape physical assault. Officers attended the scene following reports of people arguing, before locating the 44-year-old in the water unable to swim to shore. One of the officers managed to bring the woman to safety, where she was treated by paramedics and taken to hospital. A 33-year-old man, known to the woman, was arrested and taken to Auburn Police Station, charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, intentionally choking a person with recklessness and stalk/intimidate intending fear or physical harm. In another case, a 23-year-old man was arrested on a public bus, which police pulled over on the Hume Highway at Bass Hill in Sydney's south-west. He was wanted on two outstanding arrest warrants for domestic violence offences, which were executed at Bankstown Police Station. Services 'brace for the influx in referrals' Domestic Violence NSW senior policy and advocacy officer Livia Stanton said while police operations were important, it triggered "additional demand that underfunded services struggle to absorb". "Don't get me wrong, it's really important that we have this response because it signals not only to victim-survivors but also to perpetrators the seriousness of this and how serious law enforcement takes domestic and family violence," she said. Ms Stanton said when police enforcement ramped up, specialist domestic violence services braced for the "influx of referrals". "After police intervene, it's the domestic and family violence workers who manage the ongoing risk, safety, planning and support," she said. Ms Stanton said in the last few pre-budget submissions, the sector has called for a 50 per cent core funding increase. She said frontline services were operating at above 150 per cent of their funded capacity, particularly regional services. "A stronger police response must be matched with a properly funded specialist, domestic and family violence sector," she said. Full Stop Australia chief executive Karen Bevan said services across the sector were struggling to keep up with demand. "We've certainly seen an increase and we can only manage so much because we don't receive any government funding," she said. "In NSW right now, what we need is to make sure that every time someone reaches out, the system is there to catch them to say, 'We believe you, we support you and you're not alone'."