Cootamundra MP Steph Cooke has praised “brave victims” of domestic violence for coming forward and reporting the heinous crime as the number of reported incidents in the Hilltops region spikes.
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There has been a 30 per increase in the number of incidents over the last two years, the latest data from the Bureau of Crime Statistics has revealed.
There were 99 incidents reported in Hilltops local government area during the 12 months to March 2018, up from 76 the previous year.
Ms Cooke said the local police and state government were working hard to reduce the crime.
“While the increase in domestic violence related incidents is concerning, I commend those brave victims for coming forward,” the local member said.
“I urge anyone else that has been subjected to domestic violence to report incidents to police so they can hold perpetrators to account.”
Ms Cooke said laws were being changed to ensure domestic violence offenders were caught and punished.
“The NSW government is taking real and concrete steps to improve the safety of victims of domestic violence and to hold perpetrators to account,” Ms Cooke said.
“A significant package of reforms has been developed to target perpetrators and support victims and survivors of domestic and family violence, including establishing Domestic Violence High Risk Offender Teams across the state.”
In results from other crime categories, there were 38 sexual assaults for the year to March 2018, up from 25 the previous 12 months.
Thefts from dwellings jumped from 42 incidents in the year to March 2017, to 68 for the last 12 months.
Ms Cooke said crime statistics were important to give a snapshot of the challenges police face but said there was often more to the story.
“Crime statistics are useful as they give us a snapshot of the challenges facing our police officers,” she said.
“However, they only provide a small insight into the challenges the community and police face.
“I have absolute faith in each and every police officer in our region.”