Robbery, assault and motor vehicle theft remain growing problems in Maitland, despite a statewide downturn in crime.
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NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione publicly welcomed the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics last week, which showed significant decreases in crime across the state.
In 2014, all categories of robbery were down 18.5 per cent, motor vehicle theft was down 6.6 per cent and assault dropped by 4.9 per cent, but these impressive NSW figures were not reflected in the Maitland local government area.
“Maitland is a regional centre and I would love to be able to tell people they can be relaxed and be able to leave their doors unlocked, but its just not the case,” Central Hunter acting crime manager Acting Detective Inspector Mitch Dubojski said.
In the most recent NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research report, motor vehicle theft in Maitland had risen, with an additional 55 incidents recorded in 2014.
“A lot of our vehicle theft involves unlocked cars,” Inspector Dubojski said.
“People leave their iPhones and laptops in the car, which is appealing to people walking past.
“We need people to lock their vehicles, or stop leaving possessions in their vehicles.”
There were 22 robberies with a weapon recorded in Maitland in 2014, which was an increase on the year before.
Inspector Dubojski said there had been a lot of emphasis on getting people to report crime and this would have had an impact on the figures.
“It is not a dramatic increase from our point of view,” he said.
“We are getting more co-operation from the community, which means more information for police.
“Particularly the response from our Facebook page, we are getting tremendous feedback and a lot more information.”
The main job of Central Hunter police continues to be domestic violence call outs.
Domestic violence makes up 40 per cent of the police force’s workload and Inspector Dubojski hoped this figure would decrease in the future.
“We need the community to know it is simply not acceptable,” he said.
Maitland residents are encouraged to take a look at the Central Hunter LAC – NSW Police Force Facebook page.