Inspector Carr, who has recently taken over control of the Yass Police Station from Inspector Evan Quarmby, addressed councillors on recent crime statistics at the ordinary meeting of council on Wednesday October 28.

She said all officers from across the Goulburn Local Area Command – which covers an area comprising Mittagong, Yass Valley, Goulburn and most places in between – have been striving to drive down crime rates, in particular violent crime and anti-social crime.

Inspector Carr said most crime rates in the Yass Valley are down on last year - some figures have been more than halved.

Non-domestic violence related assaults are down, sexual assault and robbery statistics remain at nil, stolen vehicles are down, break and enter offences on businesses are down and stealings have also declined, according to the Inspector.

Break and enter offences on homes are slightly up from this time last year but the number is still sitting on the average for 2009, Inspector Carr said.

She also noted a recent spate of break and enter offences, especially in areas of Yass and Sutton. Some perpetrators have been arrested but others are still operating. Police intelligence suggests the majority of break and enters in Sutton are the work of people coming across the border, she told councillors.

Fraud offences are also slightly up but Inspector Carr said the figure takes in a multitude of offences, including failing to pay for petrol.

While malicious damage offences are down on last year’s figures, numbers have been slightly up in the past few months. There has been a very recent burst of property damage - most notably broken windows and graffiti - in Yass, particularly in the Central Business District (CBD).

Councillors asked Inspector Carr about the correlation between these types of offences and alcohol consumption. She said a high percentage of crimes - especially violent crimes - are alcohol related but that a large number of those offences actually occur inside the home and not out on the streets.