Police in Orange and the Central West now spend significantly more time responding to domestic violence than all other crimes put together, amid a "distressing" surge in reported cases.
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Incidents have increased about 25 per cent during the last year, Superintendent Brendan Gorman told the Central Western Daily Wednesday. Callouts now account for 60 per cent of all officer jobs.
"For me, it's distressing. It's distressing for our police. It's distressing for the community. Domestic violence links to so many other things like homelessness and youth crime," Gorman said.
"It's a significant amount. We can't go out and patrol the streets and get people doing other bad things because we're dealing with domestic violence. We shouldn't have to. Adults should take responsibility.
"Police come into a violence situation and it can turn in any way. It's the most unpredictable, its the most dangerous thing we do on a day-to-day basis."
It's the most unpredictable, the most dangerous thing we do on a day-to-day basis.
- Superintendent Brendan Gorman
The Central West already had some of the highest domestic violence rates in NSW prior to the surge. In Orange, police responded to about 332 incidents between July 2021 and June 2022.
This equated to about 7.8 incidents per 1000 people, more than double the NSW average. Studies suggest as many as 60 per cent of victims may not report abuse.
"[The increase] can be seen in two ways: The first being people are now more comfortable to report domestic violence, and the other is there is a growing scourge within the community becoming more and more prevalent," Gorman said.
"There's a cycle that needs to be broken. The community needs to step up. Jokes about domestic violence are not right ... If you've got a partner ... you're in it together. To break this down and for someone to have significant power over another is not right.
"There are a lot of services available here in Orange ... available to victims and also offenders to change their behaviour. I encourage anyone who is struggling to seek assistance."
The revelation comes as attempts to confront the issue are launched on multiple fronts. This month council voted unanimously to support a 16 day campaign against gender-based violence. Initiatives may include installation of banners at town entrances and partnerships with local sports teams.
During debate councillor Melanie McDonell opened up on her personal experiences with domestic violence as a "twice survivor."
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"We don't talk about it. We're getting a lot better as a society of talking about mental health, but with DV we're nowhere near that," McDonell said.
"DV is not just physical, emotional, financial, sexual, and it's not as obvious as seeing bruises and broken limbs. This is something we need to raise awareness of ... I'm getting better at talking about my experience ... the more we encourage people to tell their stories the more people will realise it's everywhere."
The 16 Days of Activism against gender-based Violence will run in Orange between November 25 and December 10, 2023.
Orange Local Court devotes a full day each month to sentencing for domestic violence crimes. In December last year magistrate David Day hit out at the "shameful" frequency of offending.
"It's appalling ... we must make an attempt to break the cycle. The prevalence of domestic violence in this area is higher than anywhere else in NSW other than Quakers Hill," he said.
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