Country towns in northern NSW are in the midst of a "tsunami" of crime and have been left behind in the unprecedented drop in all major offences across the state, community leaders have warned.

Police spruiked quarterly statistics released on Thursday showing that all 17 major offences are either stable or falling for the first time in 25 years. However, NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research director Don Weatherburn said there has been an "absolute failure" in rural areas to capitalise on the trend.

"While there have been reductions in country NSW, it has been nowhere near as substantial as urban areas and, in some places, it's going backwards," he said.