Regional leaders have had their say in submissions to NSW's regional crime inquiry, published online this month.

The probe into community safety in regional and rural communities, led by the Law and Safety parliamentary committee, received 188 submissions representing individuals, industry groups, youth services and public organisations.

Lachlan and Bourke shires made a submission, as did community group Safer Coonamble.

In his council's submission, Bourke mayor Barry Holman said there are young people causing trouble on the street because they can't go home.

"Council have successfully focused on providing youth activities over the summer school holiday period to reduce the incidences of crime in the community during such periods," Cr Holman said.

"Despite the efforts, in March 2024 a five-year-old child with two 12-year-old children broke into a woman's property at about two in the morning before taking her keys and stealing her car. Police later spotted the vehicle in town and tried to pull it over, sparking a brief pursuit that was called off when they realised the age of the occupants.

"One must wonder why children as young as five and 12 years of age are wandering the streets of Bourke and getting into trouble at 2am.

"The answer is unfortunately simple. Quite often it is better than being at home.

"Illicit drug use, alcohol abuse, domestic violence, physical abuse, sexual assault are just some of the 'safety issues' that these children potentially face as a reason for being away from their own house late at night."

Break and enter reports into dwellings in Bourke Shire have more than doubled in the 24 months leading up to March 2024

In Bourke Shire, reports of break and enters into dwellings jumped 39 per cent over the 60 months leading up to March 2024 according to the latest quarterly crime update from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOSCAR).

The shire recorded 162 incidents of break and enter between April 2023 and March 2024, compared to 75 between April 2022 and March 2023.

Two teenagers were arrested in Bourke just last weekend following a police investigation into at least two alleged break-ins.

Cr Holman flagged a "service mapping" project to track the performance of services in Bourke.

"The constant level of crime and family dysfunctionality reflects that the current programs are not working," Cr Holman said.

 "It would be good to see a 'service mapping' project undertaken in respect of tracking the resources that come into Bourke, both through the Government and contracts issued to the Non-Government Agencies, the respective roles undertaken by the various organisations and the outcomes achieved.

"The current systems can appear fragmented with a mapping project providing an opportunity to define the services provided in Bourke and identify grey areas, overlap and oversight between the various agencies for a potential redirection of resources."

Cr Holman also endorsed recommendations from the Country Mayors Association (CMA) calling for funding to boost frontline police numbers in the regions, as well as minimum staffing agreements for non-24-hour police stations.

The CMA also recommend 21 Local Government Areas as locations for public inquiry hearings, including Lachlan, Walgett, Coonamble, Cobar, Bourke and Parkes.

Lachlan Shire's submission also endorsed the CWA recommendations in their submission, although the shire it did not make it's own.

The Safer Coonamble Group made a submission with ten recommendations including funding locally-managed activities for young people.

"We are asking governments to stop funding 'ghost' services who are not actively working to improve the situation for our communities," group Deputy Chair Lee O'Connor said.

"Successive governments have invested millions but the funding is not hitting the ground where it matters.

"We want them to invest directly in our communities to make sure that the services are consistently delivered and respond to local needs."

The inquiry was referred to the bipartisan Law and Safety committee on 20 March this year and is focused on addressing the drivers of youth crime across regional and rural NSW.

Research published the same month by BOSCAR found rates of violent and property crime in 2023 were significantly higher in the Far West and Orana region than in Greater Sydney.

The region's rate of violent crime that year sat at 3252 per 100 000 people, or 2.9 times the NSW average.

For property crime, the region recorded a rate of 4477 incidents, 2.7 times the state average.

The committee has committed to holding public hearings in bush towns and is expected to report back in February 2025.