Petty crime. It's a bit of a misleading phrase, isn't it?

A lot of the offences that many feel drop into the the lower end of the scale might not appear to mean much in the grand scheme of things.

A broken window here, a slashed tyre there, the occasional car stolen and set on fire.

Small matters they might seem, but that shouldn't make us hardened to the fact that for some of those at the receiving end it can be a make or break moment.

More in opinion

Just because it seems to happen a lot doesn't mean we should be ok with it. There are victims at the end of those crimes.

"Just another stolen car," you might think. The family that relies on that vehicle - to get to work, go to school, seek medical help or childcare, or god forbid pick up the groceries - probably doesn't see it that way.

"It's just a bit of brickwork." Maybe that letterbox was the owner's pride and joy.

"They can pick up a new tyre tomorrow." Tell that to the person whose tyres have just been slashed, and they need their car to get to work in the morning, and if you can't get to work there's no pay coming in.

That's before the financial cost even comes into it.

And what about the reputational damage for the city when visitors are affected?

That a family couldn't visit Wagga for a young relative's birthday at the weekend without their car being smashed up is a travesty.

The Buchanans travelled from Deniliquin, making the trek in an old limousine they bought to ferry around the large family. It saved them bringing two cars.

It should've been safe, parked on the street in the suburbs.

Instead, it was trashed by vandals who smashed the windows, slashed tyres and generally went to town on the vehicle.

What was a shining light in a frustrating situation was the amount of support the Buchanans received from the Wagga community when they reached out for help getting the car moving on a Sunday.

It's just a shame that the mindless acts of some put the family in that situation in the first place.