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Western Sydney police pursuit capital of NSW

THE fast and furious are wreaking havoc in Sydney’s west where the state’s highest numbers of police pursuits take place.

Wreckage of the Sassine family's Subaru Impreza following the crash which resulted in the death of Skye Sassine.
Wreckage of the Sassine family's Subaru Impreza following the crash which resulted in the death of Skye Sassine.

THE fast and furious are wreaking havoc in Sydney’s west where the state’s highest numbers of police pursuits take place.

More than 2640 people were convicted of breaking Skye’s Law in NSW between 2010 and September 2017.

The law, named after 19-month-old Skye Sassine who died when a man leading a police chase hit her parents’ car in Ingleburn in 2009, is applied to offenders driving recklessly or at high speed during a police pursuit.

Canterbury Bankstown has the state’s highest number of offenders convicted of sparking a police pursuit, with NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research results revealing 121 people have been stung since 2010.

Police have Operation Merret in action over the Easter long weekend with the aim of reducing the NSW road toll. Picture: Gordon McComiskie
Police have Operation Merret in action over the Easter long weekend with the aim of reducing the NSW road toll. Picture: Gordon McComiskie

Blacktown was close behind with 118 people caught out and 90 in Liverpool in the same period.

Parramatta, Penrith, Campbelltown and Fairfield rounded out the top locations for police chases with the number of drivers convicted in the high 60s and 70s.

The only other areas giving Sydney’s western suburbs a run for their money are regional centres Lake Macquarie, Newcastle and Wollongong.

The punishment for breaking Skye’s Law is up to three years for a first offence and up to five years for a second or subsequent offence.

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Bankstown police recently participated in the statewide launch for Operation Merret, a NSW Police Force initiative aimed at curbing death and injury on local roads.

Duty officer Inspector Matt West said: “Every police car, marked or unmarked, trucks and Traffic and Highway Patrol, and every police officer is committed to this operation.”

Bankstown police will target speeding, pedestrian safety, mobile phone use while driving, seatbelt compliance and drink and drug driving throughout Operation Merret.

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Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/the-express/western-sydney-police-pursuit-capital-of-nsw/news-story/bda48e83351a60330f1a290a651fee39