Sydney, Feb 1 (IANS): At least 648 people in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) were charged with serious offences after local police carried out a four-day operation targeting domestic violence offenders.

The NSW Police Force said that during the operation running from January 24-27, 648 people were arrested, which included 164 of the state's most wanted domestic violence offenders, reports Xinhua news agency.

In addition, police also detected various other serious offences, including prohibited firearm and weapon possession, drug possession, and supply, with a total of 1,153 charges laid.

"In just four days, Operation Amarok saw police engage with 2,000 high-risk domestic and family violence offenders, sending a strong message to all previous and potential offenders that their predatory behaviour will not be tolerated," said Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith.

Deputy Commissioner Mal Lanyon regarded domestic and family-related violence as the most challenging community issue.

"The NSW Police Force invests significant resources into responding to domestic and family violence; attending some 139,000 calls for assistance in 2022 -- with more than 33,100 of those actual assaults and 17 domestic-related murders," Lanyon said, stressing that all people have a part to play in stopping the loss of lives due to this crime.

According to the latest personal safety survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2016, two in five Australian adults had experienced violence since the age of 15, while one in six women and one in 17 men experienced partner violence.

Another record of the bureau showed that there were 105 victims of family and domestic violence-related homicide nationally in 2021.