There is more chance of being a victim of crime in a regional area than in the city contrary to popular perception.
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As politicians continue to point the finger over who is responsible in the fight to combat the chronic crime problem in regional NSW, residents are being held at the mercy of young criminals.
Car theft is topping the list, which is being fuelled by young people under 18 posting their crime on social media.
NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOSCAR) figures show motor vehicle theft was 12 per cent higher than prior to the pandemic in the regions.
Alarmingly in the year to September 2023, NSW Police commenced legal proceedings against 945 young people and 980 adults for motor vehicle theft in regional NSW (everywhere outside Greater Sydney).
In the year to Sept 2019 NSW Police commenced legal proceedings against 312 young people and 891 adults.
BOSCAR executive director Jackie Fitzgerald said crime rates in regional NSW were higher than Sydney with car theft, break-ins and assault the main offences.
"Something that has been apparent for a long time is there is a chronic crime problem in regional areas ... it's an ongoing issue where you have a higher risk of being a crime victim in regional areas," Ms Fitzgerald said.
While she said many crimes, particularly property, had been a long-term decline, lower than it was before the pandemic (the benchmark used as crime fell in that period), the offence bucking the trend was motor vehicle theft in regional NSW.
"It's a regional phenomena associated with young people offending" she said.
"Car theft is an interesting one, there has been an increase in posting their car theft exploits online.
"There is a social media influence of people posting their crimes and a concern it has led to more people engaging in that behaviour."
She said car theft in regional areas was also attributed to joy riding and transport while in Sydney there was a lower recovery rate due to organised crime.
She said there had also been an increase of young people being proceeded against for domestic and non-domestic violence offences, likely due to proactive policing.
Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall, who has been advocating about the rising youth crime in regional areas for a year, said "all crime is almost exclusively young crime" and every town was impacted.
He said the young offenders were breaking into people's homes or motels to steal cars.
"The crimes are getting more violent, they are videoing them and posting them on social media, which is egging on others to do the same," Mr Marshall said.
He said almost all young offenders were committing offences while they were on bail but were racking up 20 to 30 offences before they went before the court for sentencing, adding 63 per cent of crime committed in his region was by someone on bail.
Mr Marshall said the local courts needed to back up the police to do their job.
He also said there were more than 70 government and non-government organisations in Moree alone that received state and federal funding to work with young people.
"There is no accountability...there needs to be no extra money spent but the money spent needs to be more effective," he said.
