THE number of motor vehicle thefts in Griffith has bucked the statewide trend to record an increase of more than 40 per cent.
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In?NSW, motor vehicle theft is down 12.9 per cent and theft from a motor vehicle is down 5 per cent over the last 24 months; however, this wasn't the case in Griffith.
Locally motor vehicle theft has risen 44 per cent and theft from a motor vehicle has increased by 33.1 per cent.
Acting crime manager Scott Wilkinson said there had been an increase in those crimes, but had difficulty giving a reason why.
"The people we are targeting are repeat offenders and are known to police," Mr Wilkinson said.
"A large number are juvenile offenders who are in various stages of going through the system."
These statistics come after several police warnings in recent months calling for people to lock their cars and remove their valuables from their vehicle.
"These are crimes of opportunity," Mr Wilkinson said.
"People are still leaving valuables in their cars in plain site and it doesn't take a great deal of planning to commit the crime."
While crime overall in Griffith saw just a small percentage increase, domestic violence related assaults saw a jump of 2 per cent from 192 offences in 2012 to 196 in 2013.
One area that saw a significant decrease in incidences was theft from a person which dropped from 16 offences in 2012 to 9 in 2013 for a 43.7 per cent change.