With new figures released last week emphasising the growing gap between crime rates in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in NSW, the Country Women's Association (CWA) of NSW has renewed its call for a state parliamentary inquiry into rural and regional crime.
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Since late last year, the CWA of NSW, along with the NSW Country Mayors Association (CMA), Police Association of New South Wales (PANSW) and NSW Farmers have been calling for an inquiry, citing the deteriorating state of crime, law and order in NSW's regions.
New statistics released last week support that call, the CWA of NSW says, with the analysis from the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) highlighting the growing discrepancies between crime rates in regional NSW and those in Sydney.
BOSCAR's latest report showing trends in recorded criminal incidents for major offences in Cowra revealed a drop in domestic violence related assault and 'no significant' change in other major offences over the two years to December last year.
The ratio to NSW rate of recorded crime incidents per 100,000 of the population paints a different picture.
Cowra doubled the NSW rate of crime in the 12 months to December 2023 for offences of:
- Sexual touching, sexual act and other sexual.
- Break and enter dwelling.
- Break and enter non dwelling and;
- Malicious damage.
The rate of break and enter to a dwelling was 3.8 times the state rate.
Other categories more than twice the state rate were sexual offences (2.3), break and enter into a non-dwelling (2.3) and malicious damage (2.0).
Major offences include sexual assaults, motor vehicle theft, stealing, break and enters, robbery, malicious damage, and murder.
The number of recorded criminal offences, according to the report, in Cowra for the 12 months to December shows there were 157 offences of malicious damage and 119 break and enters to a dwelling.
Other offences recorded were:
Domestic violence related assault - 73. Non domestic violence related assault - 74. Sexual assault - 25. Sexual touching - 28. Robbery - 4. Break and enter non-dwelling - 31. Motor vehicle theft - 38. Steal from motor vehicle - 57. Steal from retail store - 66. Other stealing - 60.
BOSCAR said in 2023, the rate of property crime was about 60 per cent higher in the regions compared to Sydney, while for violent crime it was 57 per cent higher. In some of the western areas of NSW, the rates for those same offences were at least double the state average.
"If this doesn't underline the urgent need for our policy-makers to launch an inquiry into this deepening crisis, then I don't know what does The figures are truly alarming and show with great clarity the anxiety and fear in many regional communities, right across our state," " said CWA of NSW President Joy Beames.