NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller, and Deputy Commissioner Regional NSW Field Operations Gary Worboys have been joined by Minister for Police Troy Grant to announce new Rural Crime Prevention Teams across Regional NSW.
The Rural Crime Prevention Teams will work across northern, southern and central NSW and will be overseen by the State Rural Crime Coordinator, NSW Police say.
Commissioner Fuller said the new structure will allow for a greater focus on proactivity and prevention.
"Rural crime is a serious issue that impacts whole communities. This model will renew the focus on community engagement and preventing crime," Commissioner Fuller said.
"We are improving outcomes for victims of rural crime and ensuring we have the right structure in place to do that. This takes away one of the challenges police have had for some time.
"The Rural Crime Prevention Teams will share information across the districts which will allow officers to identify patterns and recidivist behaviour."
Deputy Commissioner Worboys said improvements are continually being made to ensure police can target and respond to rural crime issues such as stock theft, trespass and illegal hunting.
"Rural Crime Prevention Teams will provide support to victims and introducing a better structure for our investigators ensures they can perform their duties without compromise," Deputy Commissioner Worboys said.
"More specially-trained rural crime officers will be clustered in our regional centres to target and prevent crime and respond quickly when it occurs.
"We know rural crime is one of the biggest issues for regional and rural NSW and this structure provides better oversight and resources for officers to proactively prevent crime."
Minister for Police Troy Grant said the new teams will complement rural crime legislation recently passed by the NSW Parliament.
"The NSW Liberals & Nationals Government has a proud record when it comes to rural crime. Following the Bradshaw Review, both the legislative and operational frameworks for responding to illegal hunting, trespass and stock theft have been strengthened," Mr Grant said.
The teams will be supported and coordinated by three detective sergeants and a detective inspector and will incorporate investigation and prevention with a strong focus on analysis and information and intelligence sharing across the regions.
Western Region Commander and NSW Police Corporate Spokesperson for Rural Crime, Assistant Commissioner Geoff McKechnie said rural crime costs communities greatly, both emotionally and financially.
"This is an opportunity to improve policing in regional NSW to ensure we have more police on the frontline where we need them to prevent crime and support victims.
"We will work closely with communities to address the issues that affect them the most."
