Licenced gun holders who are among alleged and convicted domestic violence offenders are a big worry for police.
NSW Police seized 118 guns and 16 other weapons during a three-day domestic violence operation in the past week, with 732 people charged with a total of 1589 offences.
Deputy Commissioner Paul Pisanos said officers seized weapons from licence-holders who had committed domestic violence offences, as well as unregistered, imported and manufactured firearms.
He said the number of firearms linked to the regular crackdown was a big concern for authorities.
“We've been running these operations since 2023 ... significant numbers of firearms have been seized during that time,” he said.
During one check in the latest operation in Sanctuary Point, south of Nowra, police allegedly found two unregistered guns and ammunition, a gel blaster and drugs including methamphetamine.
A 51-year-old man was charged with a series of weapons and drug offences and was refused bail.
NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley said domestic violence perpetrators were now prevented from getting a gun licence as part of a number of recent legislative changes.
“We'll take a strong approach through the governments and the laws that we have to ensure that a person that commits those offences does not lawfully have access to a firearm in the future,” she said.
Another person charged was accused of leaving a woman with fractures and cuts while he was on bail.
The 32-year-old man was arrested in a shopping centre car park in Charlestown, near Newcastle, on Friday following an alleged attack on a woman who was familiar to him on August 8.
He was charged with domestic violence offences including two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm, intentionally choking a person without consent, reckless grievous bodily harm and breach of bail.
He was refused bail and will appear before Newcastle Local Court on August 25.
Ms Catley said a domestic and family violence-related call was made to NSW Police every three minutes, with domestic violence taking up more than 60 per cent of police time in any command.
“This is NSW Police being proactive, going out into the community, using the intelligence that they have to be able to target those high-risk offenders,” she said.
State authorities for the first time worked with counterparts in the ACT, including ACT Policing and the AFP, to extradite offenders wanted over alleged domestic violence charges.
That included a 33-year-old man arrested at a home in Goulburn, NSW, over alleged domestic violence-related offences in the ACT. He was refused bail to appear before court for extradition to the territory.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
Lifeline 13 11 14
Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491
