Police arrested 648 people, including 164 of the state's most wanted domestic violence offenders, in a wide-ranging operation last week dubbed Operation Amarok One.
Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith said he wanted to treat domestic violence with the same seriousness applied to gang crime.
"Some of these individuals that were arrested through the operation scare me, even with years of organised crime behind me," he told reporters on Tuesday.
A total of 1153 charges were laid, with police seizing drugs and dangerous weapons including knuckledusters, swords, and hatchets.
Police in Sydney's west arrested a 17-year-old boy wanted for domestic violence-related damage.
The teenager, armed with a machete, appeared to run and hide the weapon behind some shrubbery before he was arrested.
During another search on the NSW South Coast, police found a man suspected of contravening a domestic violence order hiding under a secret trapdoor inside a cupboard.
Police knocked on the doors of more than 3890 offenders to conduct Apprehended Domestic Violence Order (ADVO) checks and served an additional 655 outstanding ADVOs.
Deputy Commissioner Mal Lanyon said domestic and family-related violence was the most challenging community issue of our generation.
"We continue to battle the perception that domestic violence is a 'family matter' and therefore should be treated as 'private business'," he said on Tuesday.
"That is certainly not the case. It is a community matter, and we all have a part to play in stopping the senseless loss of lives due to this crime.
Chief executive of advocacy peak body, Domestic Violence NSW, Delia Donovan said the operation helped uncover crimes that otherwise may have gone unreported.
"There are many reasons why victim-survivors of domestic and family violence don't report breaches, such as fear that it will anger the perpetrator, but operations such as these see police taking on that responsibility," she said.
Domestic violence campaigner Tarang Chawla also welcomed the move but said it was important to have a year-round focus and not simply one-off targeted blitzes during an election campaign.
"Greater training and awareness of the warning signs of domestic violence, identifying perpetrators and victims' as well as taking the issue seriously year-round are critical things we need to see more of from police," Mr Chawla said.
Last year a Domestic and Family Violence Reform Project was established to change the way police respond to and prevent domestic violence, targeting those who perpetuate violence.
It is estimated one woman dies at the hands of a former or current partner every 10 days in Australia.
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