The NSW Police Force is to set up permanent bases in regional NSW for its organised crime squad, expanding to the State’s Northern and Southern regions to target and dismantle organised criminal networks.
Announced by State Premier Dominic Perrottet, the expansion of the Force’s Raptor Squad is to deliver an additional 30 staff, comprising investigators, Operations Support Group (OSG) operatives, and Traffic and Highway Patrol officers, to the Hunter and Illawarra regions.
Deputy Commissioner of NSW Police Investigations and Counter Terrorism, David Hudson said the expansion of the Raptor Squad demonstrated how having a highly-visible police presence could disrupt the criminal activities of organised groups.
“Our regional residents need and deserve the same crackdown on criminal groups that their Sydney neighbours get, and we are delivering that with Raptor North and South,” Deputy Commissioner Hudson said.
“Our intelligence suggests that more proactive operations in the Northern and Southern regions of our State are needed to disrupt these group’s activities – we will not apologise for our strong stance on gang-related activity in this State,” he said.
“Raptor North and South will work closely with region Operation Support Groups, with the Region Enforcement Squads and local police to suppress violent behaviour and criminal activity on our streets.”
State Crime Commander, Assistant Commissioner Michael Fitzgerald said the Raptor Squad had a proven high-impact approach to targeting criminal groups and the regional bases would build on that success.
“Since Strike Force Raptor’s inception in 2009 and its establishment as a standalone squad in 2021, officers have made more than 7,500 arrests across the State and laid almost 20,000 charges for a variety of offences, ranging from the most serious and violent through to traffic and consorting,” Assistant Commissioner Fitzgerald said.
“Officers have executed more than 1,400 search warrants and seized almost 3,000 firearms, and close to 1,500 knives, swords, tasers and other dangerous weapons,” he said.
“Importantly, we have seized more than $20 million in cash, hundreds of kilos of drugs, and other proceeds of crime, which hits these groups where it hurts most – their profits.”
