The latest data from the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research showed there were 49 incidents of sexual assault reported in the 12 months to September 2017, compared to just 19 for the previous year.

June proved a bad month, with 17 of the assaults taking place, while there were a further eight during the September quarter.

It was the only negative result for the region in the latest statistics, with most crime categories remaining largely unchanged.

There were positive signs that vandalism was being reduced with a drop in the number of incidents of malicious damage to property.

There were 212 incidents between October 2016 and September 2017, compared to 275 in the 12 months previous.

Similarly, there were 22 fewer steal from dwelling offences reported, down from 62 to 40.

However break and enters to non-dwellings rose from 16 for the 12 months to September 2016 to 41 for the same period to September 2017.

Cootamundra MP Steph Cooke said police in the Southern Region Local Area Command deserved to be congratulated “for their exceptional work in fighting local crime”.

Ms Cooke said the BOCSAR data showed “proactive work of local police was detecting and preventing crime.”

"This latest data from BOCSAR reflects the commitment and dedication of our local police to keeping our community safe," Ms Cooke said.

"I would like to thank the Cootamundra community for doing their bit by reporting crime, working closely with our local police officers, and remaining vigilant," Ms Cooke said.

Ms Cooke said the trends for Hilltops largely followed the state trends.

Across NSW, domestic violence related assaults fell by 3.5 per cent, break and enters from dwellings were down 8.8 per cent and thefts from dwellings dropped 5.7 per cent.