Crime & safety
The authoritative source for crime in NSW is the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR), which publishes incidents recorded by NSW Police. Below are Cobar's 12 major offences for the 12 months from April 2025 to March 2026 (the year ending March 2026), with each rate (per 100,000 people) placed next to the NSW rate. The 'vs NSW' column is Cobar's rate divided by the NSW rate: 1.0 means the same as NSW, below 1.0 is lower than NSW, above 1.0 is higher. These are recorded incidents, not charges or convictions.
New to these terms? Read them in plain English
- Rate per 100,000
- Crime counts adjusted for population, so different-sized places can be compared.
- Compared to NSW (×)
- How the local rate compares to the NSW average (1.0 = the same).
- Recorded incident
- An incident reported to police — not a proven charge or conviction.
- Major offence categories
- The high-level offence groups official rates are calculated for.
- Police Area Command / Police District
- The local NSW Police command responsible for an area.
- BOCSAR
- The official source of NSW recorded-crime data.
Safety at a glance
- Reporting period
- April 2025 to March 2026 (12 months)Latest BOCSAR recorded-crime release for the Cobar LGA.
- What is counted
- 276 recorded incidents across the 12 major offencesBOCSAR counts criminal incidents recorded by NSW Police. They are not charges, not court outcomes and not convictions.
- How Cobar compares
- 1 of 12 major offences below the NSW rateSteal from retail store (0.54× the NSW rate) is the one below. The other eleven major offences are above the NSW rate for this period.
- Small-population arithmetic
- At a population of about 4,015, one recorded incident is worth roughly 25 per 100,000This cuts both ways. It means a handful of extra incidents lifts a per-100,000 rate steeply, and a handful fewer drops it just as steeply, so rates here move much more between periods than in a large LGA. It is a property of how a rate is calculated in a small population, not a reason to discount the counts — read the incident column alongside the rate column.
- Reporting rates differ by offence
- Recorded crime counts what is reported to or detected by policeThe share of incidents that reach police differs by offence type. It is understood to be lower for domestic-violence and sexual offences than for offences such as motor vehicle theft, which affects comparisons both between offence types and between areas.
- Local policing
- Central North Police District (NSW Police Western Region)Cobar Police Station (29 Barton Street, Cobar) and Nymagee Police Station (Milford Street, Nymagee) are both in the Central North Police District. Neither station is open 24 hours. Call triple zero (000) in an emergency.
| Offence | Incidents | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malicious damage to property | 46 | 1,145.7 | 554.7 | 2.07× |
| Domestic violence related assault | 43 | 1,071.0 | 451.9 | 2.37× |
| Other stealing offences | 35 | 871.7 | 463.1 | 1.88× |
| Sexual assault | 29 | 722.3 | 154.4 | 4.68× |
| Non-domestic violence related assault | 27 | 672.5 | 401.8 | 1.67× |
| Steal from motor vehicle | 24 | 597.8 | 295.5 | 2.02× |
| Motor vehicle theft | 22 | 547.9 | 171.2 | 3.20× |
| Sexual touching, sexual act and other sexual offences | 15 | 373.6 | 104.1 | 3.59× |
| Break & enter (dwelling) | 13 | 323.8 | 212.3 | 1.53× |
| Break & enter (non-dwelling) | 12 | 298.9 | 91.8 | 3.26× |
| Steal from retail store | 8 | 199.3 | 372.5 | 0.54× |
| Robbery | 2 | 49.8 | 20.6 | 2.42× |
Major offences in Cobar vs the NSW rate, per 100,000 population, for the 12 months from April 2025 to March 2026, sorted by number of recorded incidents. Source: BOCSAR LGA & NSW recorded-crime tables. 'vs NSW' = Cobar rate ÷ NSW rate.
BOCSAR calculates rates only for these 'major offences', so high-volume justice offences (for example breach of bail or breach of AVO) are not rate-compared here. These are recorded incidents in the 12 months to March 2026, not convictions, and in an LGA of about 4,015 people a per-100,000 rate moves sharply on small changes in the count. We publish the sourced counts and rates, the period they cover and the caveats needed to read them; we do not offer an explanation for them. For the latest figures, longer trends and other offence types, use BOCSAR's own tools below.
Sources — check it yourself
- BOCSAR — Cobar LGA crime table (XLSX) · Apr 2025 to Mar 2026
- BOCSAR — NSW recorded-crime table (XLSX) · Apr 2025 to Mar 2026
- BOCSAR — Crime statistics by LGA · Updated quarterly
- BOCSAR — Crime Mapping Tool (compare to NSW)
- NSW Police Force — Central North Police District (stations and contacts)
Figures are current as at the dates shown and may change — always confirm with the linked source. See the notice at the bottom of the page for full details and how to report a correction.