CASES of steal from a motor vehicle have halved over the past year, with incidents of break and enter dwelling, motor vehicle theft and steal from retail store also dropping significantly.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) data released on Wednesday details statewide crime figures for the 12 months to December 2020.
In the Dubbo Regional Local Government Area incidents in 13 of the 17 reporting crime categories have fallen in the past year, while the four others have increased slightly or remained stable.
The biggest reduction was in the number of steal from a motor vehicle cases which dropped from 809 cases in the 12 months to December 2019, to 415 cases in the 12 months to December 2020.
There was also a significant drop in steal from retail store, from 379 cases to 229 cases and break and enter dwelling which fell from 521 to 424.
Malicious damage to property was the most reported crime among the 17 categories in the Dubbo Regional Local Government Area during the reporting period, with the equivalent of two cases reported every day across the area.
However, cases did decrease during the reporting period, with 1135 reported in the 12 months to December 2019, and just 846 reported in the following 12 months to December 2020.
Break and enter non-dwelling slightly increased from 169 to 184 cases, as did robbery without a weapon which increased from 7 cases to 11.
Sexual assault cases in the Dubbo Regional Local Government Area also increased from 69 in the 2019 period to 99 in the 2020 period, a trend that was being seen across the state where recorded sexual assault incidents rose 10 per cent year-on-year.
Commenting on the findings generally across the state, BOCSAR executive director Jackie Fitzgerald said the social upheaval of 2020 had delivered a significant interruption to crime patterns.
"Overall property crime fell 18 per cent in 2020.
"Break-ins, robbery, shoplifting and stealing remained low throughout the year so these offences are now at historic lows. Violent crime, by comparison, was more stable across 2020.
"Reports of both domestic and non-domestic assault are consistent with pre-pandemic levels. The continued increase in sexual assault reports remains concerning."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News