The latest report from the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) showed crime rates in Dubbo were higher than Orange and Bathurst in almost every category.

When it came to steal from motor vehicles, there were 809 recorded incidents in Dubbo in the 12 months to September 2016, which was 3.6 times the NSW average. Almost half of the incidents were from residential properties.

In comparison, Orange recorded 382 thefts, and Bathurst had slightly less at 307.

While both Dubbo and Bathurst had increased from the year before, the number in Orange dropped significantly from 556 in 2015.

Items were stolen from retail stores 367 times in Dubbo in the year to September 2016, which was 155 more incidents than in Bathurst and 51 more than Orange.

Steal from retail store has been increasing for the last five years NSW-wide. Supermarkets are the most frequently targeted, with 23 per cent of recorded incidents, followed by department stores at 14 per cent.

The most common items stolen were liquor clothing and personal items like cosmetics, toiletries and razors, as well as communications and electronic equipment.

The regional figures were much the same for steal from dwellings.

There were 257 in Dubbo, 195 in Orange and 159 in Bathurst.

In Dubbo, robberies were most common from the road or footpath, which accounted for 40 per cent of the thefts in the year, followed by 25 per cent from houses and 20 per cent from retail stores.

Dubbo’s rate of assault- which was 1.9 times greater than average for domestic violence and 1.5 times higher for non-domestic violence related assault- was also higher than its counterparts.

The lowest level of domestic violence related assaults was reported in Bathurst with 198 incidents. Orange had more at 279, and Dubbo recorded 303 incidents.

The order was the same for non-domestic violence related assaults, with 213 at Bathurst, 255 in Orange and slightly more in Dubbo at 269.

Robbery with a firearm was the one category where Dubbo had less incidents reported to police than the other two cities.

There were zero robberies with a firearm reported in Dubbo in the year, whereas there were five in Orange and one in Bathurst.

Meanwhile Bathurst topped the list for robbery without a firearm, after nine reports were made to police. There was one less in Dubbo and only three in Orange.