White Ribbon Day 2017: Shocking violence figures in Oxley Local Area Command

Almost every day in the Oxley Local Area Command, police receive calls to respond to reports of domestic and family violence.

So far this year in the Tamworth region there have been 388 reports of domestic violence assault.

But while these statistics may shock you, the city’s crime manager Chief Inspector Phil O’Reilly says there is a positive outcome to the situation – people are reporting domestic violence and its victims are taking action.

“Saturday is White Ribbon Day, it is a national campaign to stop violence against women,” he told The Leader.

“We must stand up, speak out and act.

”I encourage community members to speak out when they see violence happening, if you witness violence, keep yourself safe and call triple-0 in an emergency or police.

“In Oxley LAC there were 39 reports of domestic and family violence in October. There are far too many.

“However we are in a better position now than we have ever been in tackling domestic and family violence in our community.”

Inspector O’Reilly said police now had a number of recent initiatives and tools to help reduce the violence statistics with police issued apprehended violence orders high among the list.

Victims are also now able to give “evidence in chief” in which their statement is played during the court prosecution process – sparing them the agony of testifying in front of the perpetrator.

“There is the domestic violence disclosure scheme, the introduction of the safety assessment tool and the collaborative approach of safety action meetings with a range of agencies and crisis support services,” Inspector O’Reilly said.

“There are plain English AVOs to ensure understanding and the prosecutor’s domestic violence clinic to assist victims in preparation for court.

“We have a great relationship with a number of agencies in our community who are working together.”

Locally, Oxley police’s dedicated domestic violence unit will be boosted by two high risk officers who will work closely with officers in the Western Region following an announcement by the NSW Police Force Deputy Commissioner.

“The suite of tools we now have, has enabled us to reduce the number of repeat violence victims and persons of interest in our community,” Inspector O’Reilly said.

“On Saturday, amendments to the Crimes (domestic and personal violence) Act will come into force, which will allow NSW police to enforce domestic violence orders made on or after that day in other Australian states and territories.”

“If you commit an offence for breaching an AVO, it can be enforced in another state.

“My main message to the community is please report domestic and family violence when it is occurring so we can take immediate action to protect the community.

“The Oxley Local Area Command is conducting proactive activities to target domestic violence offenders and repeat offending.

“We have identified and assessed persons of interest at high risk of reoffending and are targeting them through bail and AVO compliance checking to minimise further offending and victimisation in our community.