Almost 60 people have been charged during a two-day police operation targeting street-level crime, including knife crime, in Sydney's south-west.
In response to recent incidents in the area, officers from all nine Police Area Commands within the South West Metropolitan Region joined forces with specialist units, including the Region Enforcement Squad, Traffic and Highway Patrol, and Police Transport Command, to conduct a proactive high-visibility police operation.
The operation, which ran over two nights (Thursday 6 and Friday 7 February 2020), was intelligence-led; with a focus on the people and places known to have previously been involved in knife-crime offences.
Particular emphasis was placed on conducting bail compliance checks on those with a history relating to knife-crime, and business inspections at several tobacconists known to sell bladed weapons.
Officers were split into three teams:
East – Covering the Bankstown, Campsie and Burwood Police Area Commands
North – Covering the Auburn, Cumberland and Fairfield Police Area Commands
South – Covering the Liverpool, Campbelltown and Camden Police Area Commands
During the operation, police seized 16 knives, conducted 426 person searches, issued 27 traffic infringements and 142 transport infringements and charged 59 people with offences ranging from stealing motor vehicles to drug possession and possess knife.
Additionally, police conducted 43 bail compliance checks and issued 14 criminal infringement notices.
Of note;
- About 5.15pm on Thursday (6 February 2020) police spoke with a man seated in a Toyota Hiace ute on Lowry Street, Mount Lewis. Following inquiries, police conducted a vehicle search and seized a large hunting knife and cannabis. A 20-year-old man was arrested and charged with custody of knife in public place and possess prohibited drug. He was given a Future Court Attendance Notice to appear at Bankstown Local Court on Wednesday 1 April 2020.
- About 9pm on Thursday (6 February 2020), a Toyota Camry was seen travelling east on Canterbury Road, Canterbury, before the driver allegedly had difficultly parking at Hurlstone Park. The driver, a 40-year-old man, was stopped by officers and returned a positive roadside breath test. He was arrested and taken to Campsie Police Station where he allegedly returned a breath analysis reading of 0.208. The Canterbury man was charged with High Range PCA and is due to appear at Burwood Local Court on Tuesday 3 March 2020. His licence was also suspended.
- About 10:40pm on Thursday (6 February 2020) police stopped a man at Ingleburn Railway Station for a transport offence and following inquiries subjected him to a search. During the search, police allegedly located a credit card knife and a jacket suspected of being stolen. The 26-year-old was arrested and taken to Campbelltown Police Station where he was charged with custody of knife in public place and goods in personal custody suspected being stolen. The man was given conditional bail to appear at Campbelltown Local Court on Monday 23 March 2020.
- On Friday (7 February 2020) about 7pm, officers patrolling Bankstown as part of Operation Sabre observed a car, believed to be stolen, travelling along Marion Street. Officers directed the driver to pull over and it came to rest near the Chapel Street intersection. A 24-year old man and a 19-year-old woman were arrested and taken to Bankstown Police Station. The man was charged with take and drive conveyance without consent of owner and drive while licence cancelled. He was granted conditional bail to appear at Bankstown Local Court on Wednesday 26 February 2020. The woman was charged with contravene prohibition/restriction in AVO, goods in personal custody suspected to be stolen and destroy or damage property. She was refused bail and appeared at Parramatta Local Court yesterday (Saturday 8 February 2020).
South West Metropolitan Region Commander, Assistant Commissioner Peter Thurtell, said that the operation simply doubled-down on the good proactive work police conduct on a day-to-day basis.
"Every day NSW Police are out on the streets targeting criminals who carry knives and other weapons with the intention of causing fear or harm to others. Last year alone, police seized over 4000 knives during person searches across New South Wales", Assistant Commissioner Thurtell said.
"Custody of a knife in a public place without a reasonable excuse is a criminal offence and carrying a knife for self-protection is not a reasonable excuse.
"This operation used intelligence holdings to formulate an operational strategy; identifying and targeting known people, places and trends in the south-west region.
"As would be expected in an operation of this nature, officers also detected other criminal activity relating to drug offences, stolen property, and street crime, as well as a range of traffic offences.
"We will continue our focus on these types of offences, as every knife taken off the streets is one less weapon that could have been used to cause fear or violence in the community", Assistant Commissioner Thurtell said.
