Dubbo has the highest rate of any local government area in NSW for the crime of stealing from motor vehicles.

Residents will be urged to clamp down on the crime by locking their cars and removing or concealing valuables in them as part of a new crime prevention plan, which starts on July 1.

Dubbo’s ranking was reported in figures released two weeks ago by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR).

The BOCSAR report showed the number of steal from motor vehicle offences reported to police for 2014 was 759.

Despite the number of reported incidents rising by 127 since the previous year, BOCSAR labelled the change “not statistically significant”.

Orana Police Acting Inspector Justin Falkiner said incidents of stealing from a motor vehicle in Dubbo tended to occur in residential streets, but were not isolated to a specific area.

“A lot of the time it happens in residential streets, where offenders are checking cars as they’re walking along,” he said.

“If they can’t get in they move along.”

Acting Inspector Falkiner said offenders tended to be groups of youths.

“There are a couple of small groups who are ongoing and active and who we need to protect ourselves against,” he said.

“But it’s not always groups, some offenders are individuals.”

He said a large proportion of offenders were opportunists. He said the best way to minimise the chance of having your car broken into was removing goods from sight and locking doors.

“People need to take the steps in securing their cars and removing valuables from sight,” he said.

“If valuables are visible they can expect someone will take that chance and go that extra step.”

Dubbo City Council’s manager social services John Watts, said the Dubbo Crime Prevention Plan (DCPP) 2015-2018 draft aimed to address two priority crime categories - steal from motor vehicle and residential break-and-enter.

“The overall aim of the 2015-2018 DCPP is to assist in creating a safe environment for those who reside in, work in, or visit Dubbo,” he said.

“By July 1, we’re hoping it’ll kick off.”

The DCPP found most thefts from motor vehicles at Dubbo were opportunistic and in about half of all cases vehicles were left unlocked and/or valuables were left in plain view.

Common hotspots targeted in the past year included residential areas across Dubbo, roads and footpaths and public car parks.

Chairman of the Finance and Policy Committee, Councillor John Walkom, said the 2015-2018 DCPP would see council work closely with the Orana Local Area Command and other government and nongovernment agencies, businesses and residents to prevent crime.

“Safety and crime prevention is a community matter,” Cr Walkom said.

“Creating safer communities relies on traditional law enforcement as well as whole of government and community approaches which the plan provides.”

Last year the five-month Outsmart the Crims campaign, a joint initiative between Dubbo City Council and Dubbo Police, sought to educate the community and vehicle owners.

When it began in mid-April 2014, 102 offences were reported to the Orana Local Area Command, with 117 offences reported in May and a further 112 in June.