Thirty nine arrests have been made across Northern Ireland in a 24-hour operation targeting those sought for violence against women and girls (VAWG).

As part of the Police Service's wider support of the 16 Days of Action against VAWG international campaign, those who have perpetrated violent or abusive offences towards women and girls have been targeted.

The day of action took place on Tuesday 6th December and saw the PSNI deploy officers of various ranks across the service to send a strong message that those who harm women and girls will not be tolerated.

In September the Police Service launched their first Tackling Violence against Women and Girls Action Plan. One of the actions within the 'relentlessly pursue perpetrators' section is to "ensure those persons wanted for violence against women and girls offences are a prioritisation."

Officers were across all districts in a robust 24 hour operation, to arrest criminals who think they can evade justice for their crimes against women and girls. The Police Service has made it clear that, those sought after for offences against women and girls are a priority and perpetrators of these crimes can expect this type of targeted activity to become more frequent.

Arrests included those wanted on bench warrants linked to domestic abuse motivated investigations (including assaults and harassment), those who have committed offences under the new domestic abuse offence (including coercive control), breaches of protective orders, sexual offences and threats to commit criminal damage.

Detective Superintendent Lindsay Fisher said: "Yesterday our officers took a public stand and sent a strong message that we will do everything in our power to put a stop to abuse, harassment and violence against women and girls.

"We want those who target women and girls in Northern Ireland to know that we are actively pursuing you, using the tools at our disposal to bring offenders to justice.

"Those wanted for offences against women and girls are a priority for the Police Service, perpetrators of these crimes can expect this targeted activity to be embedded into our business as usual.

"I hope that giving the public an inside look into the workings of our operations, alongside our commitment to continue to target those wanted individuals, provides reassurance and boosts confidence that we are committed to do everything we can to bring those responsible to justice.

"We want all women and girls to not only be safe but feel safe in Northern Ireland. As part of our annual Operation Season's Greetings, the public can expect to see more officers out on targeted patrols."