Case Explained:This article breaks down the legal background, charges, and implications of Case Explained: Courts buckle under surge of ‘crooks and criminals’ – Legal Perspective
Courts clogged with domestic violence offenders could cause undue trauma even as a small victory is declared for re-energised police.
Police-initiated court actions grew eight per cent in 2025, driven by a surge in domestic violence legal actions, a report by the state crime statistics bureau shows.
DV cases accounted for one-third of the overall growth but were not a sign of more crime being committed, the bureau said.
“The growing number of domestic violence charges reflects … a higher likelihood of charges being laid when these matters come to police attention,” Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research executive director Jackie Fitzgerald said.
Rather, increased enforcement and proactive detection were behind the rise, she said, pointing to stability in other DV indicators such as hospital and victim survey data.
NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley said the new figures were encouraging.
Charges for domestic-violence-related stalking and harassment (25,393) and restraining order breaches (26,063) both reached record highs in 2025 while more than 320 coercive control charges were laid.
“Today’s numbers show that the police are really taking up the fight to crooks and criminals in our state,” Ms Catley told reporters on Wednesday.
“There’s a long way to go … but there are green shoots.”
The opposition pressed against that narrative, saying the data reflected communities were less safe and police were stretched.
“Government will attempt to reassure the community … but tell that to the families seeing shootings every week in the news, small businesses facing increasing theft, and regional communities seeing waves of major crime,” opposition police spokesman Anthony Roberts said in a statement on Wednesday.
More offenders in court does not always translate to more just outcomes, with already stretched courtrooms struggling to deal with cases speedily.
The Local Court aims to resolve about 95 per cent of matters or refer them to higher courts within six months of charges being laid.
But that completion rate has been below 90 per cent since 2022 after surging case loads, the court’s annual report shows.
Measures to reduce the backlog, including hiring new magistrates, have been implemented but many courts are still under an avalanche of cases.
“More defendants in court means more pressure on judicial officers, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the legal assistance sector,” Law Society of NSW president Ronan MacSweeney said.
“Delayed justice means victim-survivors of domestic and family violence suffer increased trauma and disruption.
“Defendants who are eventually acquitted bear an unfair burden, particularly those who have spent long periods in remand.”
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