The Neighbourhood Watch movement has grown by 600 per cent in NSW in the last four years, Newcastle-based state secretary David Watmore says.
"In NSW in 2018, we had 20 groups left," Mr Watmore said.
"We had the second lowest number of groups of any state or territory.
"Now we have the second highest number of groups behind Queensland."
In the Hunter, there are 13 groups.
Mr Watmore is also co-ordinator of Blue Gum Hills Neighbourhood Watch, which covers the suburbs of Maryland, Fletcher and Minmi.
"At Neighbourhood Watch, we encourage people to crime-harden their places. Complacency is a big problem," he said.
While some people may use hedges and trees as privacy screens, they can carry a crime risk.
"Make sure you don't have bushes growing in front of your windows, so people can't get behind the bushes and not be seen breaking in," he said.
He urged people not to leave possessions in their car overnight.
"Most people check that their front door is locked at night," he said.
"Open your front door and push the button on your car key if you're leaving your vehicle in the driveway to double check it's locked."
He said people get tired and "just want to get inside", particularly if they're in a hurry and coming home from work or shopping.
"It's school holidays at the moment, so you might have cranky kids and forget to lock the car," he said.
Most cases of stealing from a motor vehicle are from unlocked vehicles.
"Very rarely will they smash a window," he said.
"If you get a smashed window, it's usually amateurs like kids.
"I've seen video footage where offenders have checked the doors of four to five vehicles until they've found one that's not locked."
He also urged people to report property crime.
"That's the biggest problem," he said.
"Putting it on your local Facebook page is not reporting it.
"If it's not reported, police don't know where to concentrate their resources. They'll go somewhere else.
"As much as we don't like it, policing is statistics-based."
At police precinct meetings, he said, "all the break and enters and stealing from motor vehicles will come up as little dots on a map".
"The district commander will say, 'Why do we have all these dots in Wallsend [for example]? OK, we need resources there'."
People may complain that police don't always attend the scene of a property crime report.
"But if they've got a domestic violence case and a steal from motor vehicle, you know which one they'll go to," Mr Watmore said.
"By reporting it, that statistic is still there for them. So report, report, report."
In March, Neighbourhood Watch Australasia and Crimsafe will seek to raise awareness about improving home security.
The campaign collects data to highlight key suburbs across Australia where "massive opportunity exists to improve home security".
They also created the free "Secure Score" platform - an audit tool that rates the effectiveness of home security.
