The shire’s homes are still 30 per cent more likely to be broken into than others across the state.
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A September update in local crime statistics has shown crime in the Eurobodalla is improving in some areas, while worsening in others.
When compared to the rest of NSW, break and enters into dwellings remain about the same.
However the number of break-ins into motor vehicles has risen, according to the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOSCAR).
Cars in the shire are 40 per cent more likely than the state as a whole to be broken into - up 30 per cent from June’s figures.
In the September quarter update, 343 cars were broken into and 274 homes recorded break-ins.
Batemans Bay Detective Inspector Kevin McNeil said the changes show people are reporting crime.
He also said a rise in the number of visitors to the area would impact on the number of break-ins, as people returning to their holiday homes sometimes found evidence of a break-in, which may have occurred months ago.
Police are targeting problem areas however Det McNeil urged residents to secure and hide valuables, even in the home. He said many break-ins were into houses and cars that were unlocked.
While house break-ins have increased, the number of break-ins into non-dwellings and theft from retail stores has dropped.
September’s quarterly update showed there were 118 retail thefts, compared to 125 in the same period last year.
Det McNeil said police had been working with retail outlets in the Eurobodalla to target theft, and had held operations as deterrence.
When a shoplifter is sprung, they are often banned from that store and/or complex, which Det McNeil said helped reduce the numbers.
Malicious damage offences have also decreased, after spiking between 2010 and 2011.
There were 485 reports of malicious damage in the September update, compared to 523 in the same report last year.
The number of domestic violence cases has increased.
This year saw a 15 per cent increase in domestic violence assaults compared to last year’s figures, in the same 12 month period up to September.
Det McNeil said this increase meant more people were reporting the crime.
“We encourage people to report,” he said. “We never say domestic violence is a good thing. We’d like there to be no domestic violence, see a zero statistic but, in reality, we want people to come forward about it.”
He said the 16 days of activism following White Ribbon Day were coming to an end, and he encouraged victims of domestic violence and their friends and family to come forward and report it.
