Wagga council's move to establish a 'Crime Prevention Working Group' has been welcomed by Neighbourhood Watch, which has been pushing for the measure since last year.
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"I think it's a step forward for the council," Wagga Neighbourhood Watch president Wayne Deaner said.
"The next step will be to see how serious they are with who they are inviting to the table.
"The whole Wagga community needs to look at crime, starting with youth workers to the Mayor and head of police; we need a very broad approach and we need to do something now."
Mr Deaner has also been evaluating a 'community patrol' concept that has been suggested for Wagga by former federal law enforcement officer Matt Nolte.
The concept would be to have volunteers or possibly council rangers reporting crime directly to police but not intervening.
Councillors resolved on Monday night to invite "key agencies" such as police to join the group to "share information and initiate collaborative approaches to address crime and safety issues".
Councillor Kerry Pascoe was Wagga's mayor during the term after the city established a similar working group in 2004.
"I think it can work, but it all depends on how much effort is put in," he said.
Back then, one of the major crime issues stemmed from large numbers of people departing pubs on Fitzmaurice and Baylis streets at closing time and heading to other venues.
Cr Pascoe said the group helped tackle the problem by having councillors ride along with police during patrols to gain insight into their duties.
These days, Wagga residents have nominated drug-related property crime and car fires as their main concerns.
"(Crime in Wagga) has changed, and that's due to the good work that police have put in on the main street," Cr Pascoe said.
Cr Pascoe did acknowledge that there was "something wrong" in the city when "one to two cars a week are being burned".
Cr Dan Hayes has pointed to domestic violence as Wagga's most prevalent crime, which was being overshadowed by offences carried out in public.
Wagga MP Joe McGirr said he hoped to see the NSW Government participate in the working group to help "make Wagga streets safe".