There has been a sharp rise in the number of thefts from motor vehicles in one Hunter town during the past two years, while property crime has generally gone down across the region - echoing a statewide trend - according to new data.
The latest NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) figures, released on Thursday, show that there has been a 133.9 per cent increase in cases of stealing from motor vehicles in the Muswellbrook local government area in the two years to this March.
Malicious damage to property has risen by 51.6 per cent in the Singleton local government area during the same period, while break and enters of non-dwellings jumped by just over 38 per cent at Lake Macquarie.
Break and enters of homes dropped by almost 30 per cent in the Cessnock council area, where non-domestic related assaults increased by 21.4 per cent, the figures show.
According to the BOCSAR report, violent crime in the Hunter Valley increased by 2.7 per cent in the three years to March, while it remained stable in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie - which mirrors the state average.
Property crime dropped by 15 per cent over the same period in the Hunter Valley and decreased by 14.1 per cent in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie - BOCSAR found that it fell 15.9 per cent across NSW, on average.
The crime research bureau said property offences were down across the state because of a reduction in cases of break-ins and robberies but that violent crime had returned to pre-COVID levels in NSW.
BOCSAR executive director Jackie Fitzgerald said it was surprising that the number of thefts was low, generally, given life had largely returned to normal following coronavirus lockdowns.
"A number of factors suspected to be keeping property crime low during the pandemic are no longer in play, such as mobility restrictions and access to government stimulus money," Ms Fitzgerald said.
"It seems likely that property crime will start to increase over the coming year but, fortunately, this is taking longer than expected."
