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TWO Riverina councils are calling for better police coverage after local stations were left unmanned recently.

Denise Osborne, mayor of Greater Hume Shire Council, and Peter Yates, mayor of Lockhart Shire Council, both believe their districts may be at risk if officers are called away and not replaced.

Officer numbers have long been a sticking point in smaller towns around the Riverina, with only four towns in the Greater Hume district – Holbrook, Culcairn, Henty and Walla – having police stations.

Lockhart, The Rock and Yerong Creek are the towns which have stations in Lockhart Shire Council's area.

Local area commanders at both Wagga and Albury were unavailable to comment about the concerns yesterday.

Councillor Osborne said, as the community's representative, she wanted to see some improvements.

"The community isn't happy. There is always a potential risk that something could go wrong when there is no police presence in a town," she said.

"We understand if officers have to be called away or go on holiday but I think they should be covered or replaced, as they would if an officer left Albury.

"We've been well-serviced by the police. Officers in our district live only short distances from their stations but I think the community wants to see some improvement."

Cr Yates was adamant police were doing a great job in the district but wanted to ensure they stayed.

"We have had issues with policing but I'm looking forward to talking to the new Wagga commander. Officers at The Rock and Yerong Creek have been doing fantastic work and we will work to build strong repore with the police and guarantee adequate policing continues,"?Cr Yates said.