‘Frustrated and angry’: Repeat offenders left to do it again amid domestic violence crisis
Despite rates of assaults and murders rising, the number of crucial AVO compliance checks carried out on domestic violence offenders has fallen by 21,000 in just two years. One of the state’s top cops has now pointed the finger at the courts.
NSW
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The number of crucial AVO compliance checks carried out on domestic violence offenders has fallen in recent years, despite assaults and murders rising over the same period.
Concerning new data shows police have dropped off in their checks on domestic violence offenders who are subject to an AVO in the past two years, after setting a record for compliance checks in 2022.
But in a rare move, one of the state’s top cops has pointed the finger of blame for NSW’s domestic violence crisis at the courts, saying cops are “frustrated and angry” at arresting repeat offenders only for magistrates to soon let them back out into the community.
“Every day police are arresting domestic and family violence offenders, often repeat offenders, only to have the courts all too often letting them back onto the street, tragically, sometimes with deadly consequences,” Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna said.
“Like the rest of the community, we’re frustrated and angry.”
In the first year outgoing Police Commissioner Karen Webb - a prominent domestic violence crusader - was in charge, officers carried out a record 118,000 AVO compliance checks.
But in 2024 they performed fewer than 97,000, a drop of 21,000 in just two years.
Over that same period, the number of domestic violence-related murders has jumped from 25 in 2022 to 39 in 2024.
One of the women who is sadly counted among those statistics is Mackenzie Anderson, a young Newcastle mother who was murdered by her boyfriend Tyrone Thompson in 2022, despite an AVO being in place.
Ms Anderson’s mother Tabitha Acret, who recently slammed the 15-year jail sentence handed to Thompson for stabbing her daughter 78 times, said she believes AVOs do not carry enough weight.
“One of the horrific things with his sentencing is that he breached the AVO eight times and he got zero additional sentence for that,” Mrs Acret said.
“It tells women, this AVO is worthless, and it tells men you can do what you want.
“We can’t have those numbers (of AVO compliance checks) going down, especially when the numbers (of murders) are going up.
“I do have a lot of sympathy for the police, I think they’re underfunded and under resourced.
“AVOs are not working... it’s a bigger issue than just saying it’s not being done, we need to look at funding and resourcing.”
Over the weekend the Minns government announced a new scheme across NSW enabling domestic violence victims to fortify their homes so they can stay living in them - while police will be called in to kick their attackers out, and force them to find their own place to live.
Asst Comm McKenna told The Daily Telegraph others efforts of police across the state to arrest domestic violence offenders had seen the time it takes them to respond to incidents across Sydney improved by almost one minute in the past year.
“Women deserve to be safe in their homes and on the streets – something has to dramatically change and change quickly,” he said.
“Historically, domestic and family violence has been one of the most under reported crimes because the perpetrator often knows the victim intimately.
“A rise in the number of reports of this form of abusive behaviour shows that this is no longer seen as a private matter.”
Compliance checks for AVOs have only been used since 2018 and while the BOCSAR statistics show a drop in the past two years, more are still being carried out now than they were before 2022.
What the data also shows is a dramatic spike in checks four times a year - which correlates to when Operation Amarok is on, a statewide operation focussing on offenders with an elevated level of threat to their victim, however in the months between the checks drop off.
Independent upper house MP Rod Roberts said he was keen to know why the AVO compliance checks had dropped off and whether more resources were needed to be provided to help police.
“Have we taken our foot off the accelerator and as a result we’ve got an increase in DV offences?” Mr Roberts said.
Originally published as ‘Frustrated and angry’: Repeat offenders left to do it again amid domestic violence crisis
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