Australian authorities have brought criminal charges against 24 people so far in connection with the ongoing deadly brushfires currently ravaging the country, police said Monday.
The New South Wales Police Force said in a statement that 183 people have faced legal action for brushfire-related offenses since Nov. 8, including 40 juveniles.
Two dozen of the 183 people cited by police were charged over alleged-lit brushfires, putting each at risk of the possibility of imprisonment, the police force said.
Any person charged and convicted of starting a brushfire and recklessly allowing it to spread may face a maximum sentence of 21 years in prison, the statement said.
Other related offenses, including lighting a fire while a ban is in place and not properly extinguishing a lit fire, each carry up to 12 months imprisonment and monetary fines.
Of the 183 people cited by authorities, 47 people have faced legal action for allegedly discarding a lit cigarette or match, the police statement said.
At least 18 people have died in Australia since late last month as a result of the brushfires, which have destroying millions of animals and thousands of homes.
“I know all of those people are not people out there trying to kill people or destroy houses,” NSW Police Force Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys APM told reporters Tuesday, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. “Police are well aware that we need to take action against people, whatever that might be, in this time and it is particularly a heightened risk of fire activity and we’ve seen the devastation it causes.
“We make no apologies for being so vigilant about that,” he said, according to the outlet.
New South Wales is Australia’s most populous state and includes Sydney, the country’s capital and largest city.
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