Member for Murray Helen Dalton joins mayoral support for Parliamentary Inquiry into crime, law and order

"People I speak to in Murray are very concerned about the level of crime and the types of crimes we are seeing," Mrs Dalton said.

"Youth crime for example is a growing and serious concern. People have a right to feel safe in their communities and as elected representatives, we should be doing everything we can to help achieve this."

Several MIA mayors have also backed the call being made by the NSW Country Mayors Association which is joining forces with the NSW Police Association and NSW Farmers in the endeavour.

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Mrs Dalton said she is pleased by this partnership as well as the support by both Griffith mayor Doug Curran and Leeton mayor Tony Reneker.

"I'm encouraged to see that the NSW Police Association sees real value in holding a parliamentary inquiry to explore how we can battle crime in our regions more effectively," Mrs Dalton said.

"We need to urgently increase our focus on law and order in regional areas and I completely support the push by the Mayors."

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MP Steph Cooke, who is the member for the neighbouring electorate of Cootamundra, is also championing the cause, saying the figures provided by the Country Mayors Association are of 'grave concern.'

"What these figures also show is the growing incidence of rural crime is exacerbated by the unique challenges facing our local police, including limited resources, as well as the difficulties involved in covering vast geographical distances, which makes providing timely and rapid responses to incidents that much harder," Ms Cooke said.

"The last thing any of us want is a situation where people are afraid to step out their front door; we all deserve to feel safe in our homes, and indeed, when we're out and about in our communities... an inquiry will provide an opportunity for the government to hear directly from stakeholders about the evolving situation on the ground, and possible solutions going forward."

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