An incident on Thursday night (4 January) that saw public figure Oli Le Lievre driving all night to escape a break-in of his motel room at Goondiwindi, and has reignited the call for more to be done in addressing crime in regional areas.

Humans of Agriculture founder Oli Le Lievre took to social media after choosing to leave his Goondiwindi accommodation in the middle of the night after waking up to a loud knocking.

“It was these kids trying to kick in the door next to me to try and steal cars,” Mr Le Lievre told his followers. 

“It is the most terrifying thing that I have ever been through in my life.”

Founder of Humans of Agriculture podcast Oli Le Lievre. (LinkedIn)

With a following of over 21,000 people, Mr Le Lievre hoped broadcasting his experience might bring more attention to the issue.

“The crime issue…people have told me it was bad…I had no idea what I was gonna do,” he said. 

“All I can say is that if any politician…experienced what I experienced five minutes ago, there would be so much more being done about crime in rural areas.”

The subject touches close to home for many, after many councils and organisations banded together in a call for an inquiry into rural and regional crime, which has been on the rise in recent years.

The rejection of the inquiry hit hard for communities suffering from crime spikes. 

It comes as the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) have revealed LGA’s with the highest crime rates, with several local towns coming in as the worst offenders for break-and-enter and theft related crimes. 

Coonamble has the highest rate of steal from dwelling, steal from person, break and enter non-dwelling and malicious damage to property offences. The town is also fourth in the state for trespass. 

Walgett has ranked number one for stock theft and assault police offences, second for malicious damage to property, and third for trespass. 

In Gilgandra, the town has the highest rate of robbery with a firearm.

Bourke, Lightning Ridge, Warren, Coonamble, and Walgett were all listed in the Top 10 most dangerous suburbs in regional NSW. 

For people living locally, the statistics are nothing new. 

Despite the lived experience of residents, BOCSAR reports that the high rate of property crimes, they still remain lower than pre-pandemic levels. 

“Following large reductions in offending during the pandemic, police recorded 18% fewer property offences between October 2022 and September 2023 than in the same period five years ago,” BOCSAR reported. 

When it comes to the two-year trend, however, property related crimes (including motor vehicle theft, robbery, break and enter dwelling, steal from retail store) have all risen since the beginning of 2022. 

Labor’s Duty MLC for the Barwon Electorate told ABC Radio National that a fix will come from more programs being rolled out rather than the requested inquiry. 

“A politicised upper house inquiry looking at issues that have really been done to death, I don’t think is going to take us forward.”