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NSW launches major initiative to monitor domestic violence offenders

The threat of domestic violence has many women living in fear.

The threat of domestic violence has many women living in fear.

An Australian-first register will monitor repeat domestic violence offenders as NSW Police overhaul how they deal with violence against women

Officers will be given special training under the changes, with a dedicated team also providing oversight and monitoring of high-risk perpetrators.

Legal specialists and a consultant psychologist will also be on board to help connect victims with support services and guide them through the legal process.

The announcement comes after a series of domestic violence-related killings across the state in recent months.

Superintendent Danielle Emerton, who will oversee the operation, said she hoped to reduce much of the paperwork and red tape involved in dealing with domestic violence cases.

“We have a predictive model to analyse the likelihood that an offender will cause serious harm, which allows us to put strategies in place to neutralise the threat,” she said.

Similar to the child-protection register, the NSW system will allow police stations across the state to feed intelligence into the domestic and family violence register.

It is hoped the registry will help police to better co-ordinate resources and work with other service providers.

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the registry would help police provide advice, guidance and responses to domestic and family violence incidents around the clock.

The overhaul follows recommendations from an auditor-general’s report which found significant changes were needed within the force’s response to domestic and family violence.

Police Minister Yasmin Catley said vicious criminal assaults were occurring where people should feel the most safe, within their own homes.

“With a minuscule number of exceptions, it is men attacking women and children in their own homes,” she said.

“It’s hard to think of many worse categories of crime.”

-AAP

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