The number of motor vehicle thefts has fallen by more than 26 per cent within Wagga's council boundaries over the past 12 months, but the city remains significantly above the NSW average for stolen cars.
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According to the latest figures from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, there were 176 motor vehicle theft incidents recorded within the Wagga council area over the 12 months to September last year, compared to 239 incidents over the 12 months before that.
Uranquinty resident Jan Bourke, who had her car stolen as part of a burglary in 2019, said it was good to see car thefts declining.
"I count myself as lucky as I was insured and could get another car, but what about the people who can't?" she said.
Riverina Police District Superintendent Bob Noble credited the drop in vehicle thefts to successful prosecutions and high-visibility policing via additional officers in the region.
"During the past 18 months we have had some pretty good wins in terms of identifying recidivist offenders and getting some good results in court," he said.
"The consistency of those people being either incarcerated or under an intensive corrections order or under probation and parole-style of arrangement where their activities are significantly monitored, is probably the main driver behind those offences dropping."
Wagga council area currently has a rate of 271.5 motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents, compared to the NSW average of 151.
Mrs Bourke had taken her sick husband to hospital and returned home to sleep one night in January 2019 when she was woken up by the sound of male voices in her home.
When she went to investigate, the burglars pushed past her in the hallway and ran off with her handbag before returning a few days later to steal her car.
Mrs Bourke said the offenders were "despicable".
"A while ago I was travelling up Red Hill Road and I saw a car that was not-long burned out and it brought back terrible memories," she said.
"If I see a burnt-out car it still does bring back memories. I watched my car burn on TV and it was very traumatic."
The rate in Wagga was higher than in some outer Sydney councils but lower than in Albury, with 390 incidents per 100,000 people.
Superintendent Noble said Riverina Police District had formed a high visibility policing unit 18 months ago with six extra staff working out of Wagga Police station to target "crime hotspots" and known suspects.
"In respect to more work to be done, there always is," he said.
"Another thing that we have done very well in the past 12 to 18 months is sharpening up on the way we managed the recovered stolen vehicles and how we process them at a crime scene.
"We have got a lot of really good wins around processing those crime scenes around fingerprints and other forensic evidence...we intend to redouble our efforts in 2021 to improve in that area."
Official crime statistics have also identified several hotspots across the city with a high density of motor vehicle thefts around Ashmont, Kooringal, Turvey Park and Tolland as well as around car parks in Wagga's central business district.
Superintendent Noble said the location of thefts was sometimes influenced by the opportunities created by people letting their guard down and it was "disappointing" that there was "a surprising number of offences where the keys were left in the vehicle".