Local police have stopped what could have been a spike in domestic violence cases brought on by the COVID-19 lockdown in the Milton/Ulladulla area.
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Police and other agencies feared there would be a rise in domestic violence incidents with people under stress because of the lockdown, combined with an increase in alcohol use.
Acting Inspector Luke Geradts from South Coast Police District said there was an increase, but added, thankfully, it was not a significant increase.
For the period from March to May in 2019, police in the Ulladulla area responded to 81 domestic violence calls.
This year, in the same period, police responded to 101 calls.
Local police took part in Operation Making Families Safer 2020, which was aimed at reducing and preventing domestic violence.
Acting Inspector Geradts said the operation meant police went out into the community to carry out apprehended violence order compliance checks on repeat offenders.
They carried out 104 checks in the region over the past few months, compared to 33 checks last year over the same timeframe.
"I believe there would have been more incidents if police had not been so proactive," Acting Inspector Geradts said.
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The Acting Inspector also called for members of the public to play a role in preventing domestic violence.
He urged people if they know of or suspect someone is caught up in a domestic violence incident, to call local police or Crime Stoppers.
Help from the public can lead to successful convictions.
"It [public assistance] does help us a great deal," Acting Inspector Geradts said.
He added people can remain anonymous or provide police with their details.
People can call the Ulladulla Police Station on 4454 8599 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Locally, for domestic and family violence information, visit www.police.nsw.gov.au. For Shoalhaven Domestic Violence officers call 4421 9666 or 4421 9665 or email shoaldvlo@police.nsw.gov.au.
Other available services include:
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) is a confidential information, counselling and support service;
NSW Domestic Violence Line (1800 65 64 63) is a statewide telephone crisis counselling and referral service for women;
Men's Referral Service (1300 766 491) provide telephone counselling, information and referrals for men;
Link2Home (1800 152 152) can help refer women experiencing domestic violence to crisis accommodation; and
Lifeline (13 11 14) is a national charity providing all Australians experiencing a personal crisis with access to 24-hour crisis support and suicide prevention services.