Tighter monitoring of alleged serious domestic violence offenders won't be affected by a dire shortage of police officers, the NSW government says.
Corrections Minister Anoulack Chanthivong said on Friday that there would be "robust" systems in place for a strict, new regime of electronic monitoring.
But he had few answers when grilled on how many extra staff would be deployed for the bailed suspects deemed to pose the greatest risk.
People charged with serious domestic violence crimes - including sexual assaults, significant physical assaults and kidnappings - will be required by courts to wear an ankle bracelet and be subject to round-the-clock monitoring if granted bail.
Corrective services will monitor the serious offenders and alert police if a breach occurs, beginning from Friday.
The changes were flagged in May in response to a series of high-profile cases, including the alleged murder of young Forbes mother Molly Ticehurst by her ex-partner while he was on bail for other serious domestic violence-related charges.
"Corrections has the specialist knowledge, robust systems and the technology to monitor serious domestic violence offenders who are on bail, 24/7," Mr Chanthivong told ABC Radio.
"Any breaches of the bail conditions will mean there'll be swift notification to NSW Police so that the appropriate action can be taken."
Mr Chanthivong did not directly answer questions about whether the state's stretched police force had the capacity to enforce the breaches.
Sitting nearly 2300 recruits short of full strength in August, some police have begun ditching non-core tasks such as welfare checks and prisoner transfers, citing the shortage.
More alleged domestic violence offenders would remain in custody under related changes that make it harder for those accused of serious crimes to be granted bail, easing the load on officers, Mr Chanthivong said.
"If a serious offender breaches bail conditions in their geographical exclusion zones, the system will immediately be alerted … the domestic violence offender needs to be contacted by NSW Police and enforced," he said.
NSW has procured an extra 100 electronic monitoring tags on top of 1300 already in rotation.
A 2023 report from the state's Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research found people on NSW's existing electronic monitoring program were 33 per cent less likely to commit another domestic violence offence.
They were also nearly 20 per cent less likely to breach their ADVO and 11 per cent less likely to return to custody.
"These results clearly show electronic monitoring can be used to effectively manage serious domestic violence offenders in the community without compromising the safety of victim/survivors," BOCSAR executive director Jackie Fitzgerald said at the time.
Queensland introduced similar electronic monitoring for bailed alleged domestic violence offenders in 2018 after a successful trial, while several other states are in the process of rolling out similar programs.
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With AAP.
