The latest quarterly crime figures from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) revealed that while most of the 17 major crime categories remained stable in the Moree Plains Local Government Area (LGA) over the 24 months to December 2017, break-ins to businesses had risen 59.9 per cent and vehicle theft increased by 48.1 per cent over the two-year period.

In the 12 months to December 2017, all but two of the 17 crime categories saw an increase.

Domestic violence-related assaults and indecent assaults were the only categories which recorded a drop over the 12-month period.

Although there was a decline by 35 incidents, there was still a total of 219 domestic violence-related assaults in Moree last year, making it the second worst LGA in the state for domestic violence.

Meanwhile, robbery with a firearm tripled and robberies without a weapon and those with weapons but not a firearm doubled, along with steal from a person.

While these numbers are still quite low – there were three incidents of robbery with a firearm, up from zero in 2016 – property crime figures remain high.

In 2017, 399 homes were broken into, up from 280, and 219 businesses were hit, 82 more than the previous year.

There were 649 incidents of malicious damage to property, up by more than 100 from 2016.

Vehicle theft also increased by more than 90 incidents, from 189 to 280, in the 12-month period.

All categories except murder and fraud remain well above the state average, with firearm robberies more than 13 times the NSW rate.

Business break-ins are more than 11 times the state average, while robberies with a weapon and break-and-enters to homes are more than eight times the NSW rate.

Across the New England North West region, the majority of crime rates remained stable, with the exception of robberies without a weapon which jumped 54 per cent. Robberies with a firearm and a weapon were also up, along with rates of non-domestic assaults.