People in the Orange Local Government Area (LGA) are more than twice as likely to be sexually assaulted compared to the state average across NSW.
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The executive director of the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR), Jackie Fitzgerald, said the statistics across a range of assault categories in the LGA are "concerningly high".
The latest figures from BOCSAR show that in the 12 months to September 2020 the rate of sexual assault in the LGA was 2.3 times the state average.
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The rate of indecent assault was 2.5 times the NSW average.
People were 1.7 times more likely to be a victim of domestic violence-related assault, and 1.8 times more likely to be a victim of non domestic violence-related assault.
"We do find that regional communities have a higher rate of violent crimes than the city," said Ms Fitzgerald.
"It's hard to know [why], but it's been long observed, and it's the reality of how crime plays out."
She said that in bigger cities, for example, there is a greater rate of robbery.
Despite a drop in crimes such as break and enter across the LGA and the state - which Ms Fitzgerald said was a result of COVID stimulus payments and, to a lesser extent, more people working from home - the Orange LGA was well above the NSW average.
People were 2.7 times more likely to be the victim of a break and enter.
They were 2.1 times more likely to have property maliciously damaged.
In the 12 months to September in the Orange LGA there were 292 domestic violence-related assaults, up from 286 in the year to September 2019.
There were 289 non domestic violence-related assaults, up from 258.
Sexual assaults in the year to September 2020 rose to 80, up from 72.
There was a large drop in break and enters, from 485 down to 294.
The incidence of motor vehicle theft also dropped, from 196 in the year to September 2019 to 125.
For the latest 24 months, all 14 NSW Statistical Areas recorded a significant downward trend in property crime.
The Central West was down 13.4 percent.
By comparison Greater Sydney was down 19.5 percent, Far West and Orana was down by 19.8 percent, Riverina was down 13.6 percent and Mid North Coast was down 12.7 percent.
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