Domestic and family violence takes up about 40 per cent of NSW Police Force work and the law enforcement watchdog has identified gaps in its response.
Police are the first to respond to most domestic and family violence incidents with officers attending about 500 call-outs every day.
A four-year review into the force's response to domestic and family violence matters looked at more than 200 complaint investigations, culminating in the latest NSW Law Enforcement Conduct Commission report released on Wednesday.
Chief Commissioner Peter Johnson SC said the report highlights the scale of police work involved in responding to domestic and family violence.
"Police attend 180,000 domestic and family violence incidents in NSW each year or about 500 incidents every day," Mr Johnson said.
The review found poor record-keeping practices and inadequate police training.
"There were times when a victim reported violence to police but there was no police record of the victim's report," he said.
"There were occasions when no statement was taken from the victim and there was no attempt to take statements from other witnesses."
The commission's review also covered police handling of conflict-of-interest issues where police officers were involved in domestic and family violence incidents.
"We saw problems with the way in which police managed conflicts of interest when another police officer was said to be involved in the domestic or family violence," Mr Johnson said.
Of the 222 complaint investigations reviewed, 70 related to 60 officers being involved in domestic and family violence incidents with 17 of those officers charged with offences.
Of the 60 officers involved, 11 were found to have been previously investigated for domestic and family violence, in some cases more than once.
The commission urged NSW Police to keep clear records of all domestic and family violence allegations and incidents as well as improving record-keeping about the removal of firearms.
It also recommended providing mandatory training to all general duties officers on how to better respond to such matters.
"If police don't investigate allegations of domestic and family violence well then victims are at risk, offenders aren't dealt with, there's a risk that violence will continue and victims can be reluctant to contact police in the future," Mr Johnson said.
The commission's report spanned a four year period ending in July 2021.
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