Country Mayors Association Parliamentary inquiry backed by Griffith, Leeton mayors

The NSW Country Mayors Association - which Griffith City and Leeton Shire Councils are members of - has announced it will join forces with the NSW Police Association and NSW Farmers in the endeavour.

Griffith City Mayor Doug Curran said while he doesn't believe crime trends in the area have shifted in recent times, he believes supporting the cause would pose benefits down the track.

"The feedback I get is that we are no better or worse than other areas - which is not to say crime isn't happening in our city. But we haven't had an influx of community concerns raised as of late," Cr Curran said.

"In saying that, we can go anywhere from three months to three years without a spike in incidents and then all of a sudden it can happen.

"Different areas have different issues and I think the key here is reviewing the entire network rather than any one location.

"As part of that, I think it could benefit us as well as other areas into the future."

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Leeton mayor Tony Reneker concurred with those sentiments, saying the biggest issue facing his shire is police resources.

"There is crime but it's certainly not out of control here," he said.

"The concern I have is that some police are being taken out of our area and sent to other locations to cover staffing short falls and to transfer prisoners to Junee. That leaves us at a loss.

"Council regularly meets with our police commander and unfortunately they do struggle to fill vacancies.

"We should always have police dedicated to our area. We all want a safe community and we can only have that by having a solid police presence. Leeton Shire tax payers are entitled to that as much as anywhere else," Cr Reneker said.

According to CMA chairman, Jamie Chaffey, BOSCAR statistics revealed residents of rural, regional and remote areas across the state are generally more likely to be sexually assaulted, have their cars stolen, have their homes broken into and are more likely to be impacted by domestic violence.

He said when such crimes did occur, police response was hindered due to the resources available.

"Our report paints a very clear picture of a law and order crisis in regional communities. Our already-stretched police officers cannot continue to try to address this impossible challenge," Mr Chaffey said.

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