At 4.15pm on Wednesday, a man entered the general store on Hawken Road armed with a brick.

With his face covered with a beanie, he demanded cash from an employee, which was refused and he left the store empty-handed.

The incident is the latest in a string of serious robberies and hold-ups, in which the alleged offenders were armed with firearms or weapons.

On Monday, October 7 three armed men stormed into the Gerringong Bowling Club, stealing an undisclosed sum of money.

Later that evening two police officers had a firearm pointed at them while investigating the attempted break-and-enter of the Great Southern Hotel’s bottle shop at Berry.

This follows break-ins and thefts at St Georges Basin, Sanctuary Point and Wandandian within hours of each other in September and a number of other robberies including incidents at Culburra Beach, Sanctuary Point and Sussex Inlet.

Residents of the Bay and Basin area have been pleading for years for extra police resources, especially after hours, to curb the growing crime wave.

According to the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research the incidents of armed robbery, especially with the use of a firearm, have increased.

In the 12 months up to December 2013, the Shoalhaven recorded seven armed robberies with firearms, 11 robberies with other weapons and 17 without a weapon.

In the latest figures, in the 12 months to June 2014, the area has had six robberies with a firearm, 21 robberies with other weapons and 17 robberies without weapons.

The increase in robberies with a firearm has dramatically increased in the past two years, with seven and six respectively.

In the four years prior, according to the bureau, there were only five armed robberies, including three in 2010.

Since the brutal attack on North Nowra man Francois Beugels last August the incidence of violent crime seems to have escalated.

Many people were appalled with the vicious basing of 76-year-old Mr Beugels and while the serious bashing attracted a lot of media attention, the initial intention of both offenders was to rob him, which they did.

Police are saying privately the increase of serious crime, such as armed robbery, could be directly attributed to the use of methamphetamine or ice and the amount of drugs readily available in the local area.

Users are easily addicted to the drug and spend up to $100 a point (a small piece of the drug) several times a day therefore increasing the need for quick cash to be able to buy the drugs.

The recent National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling report which revealed more than one in five, 20.97 per cent, of children in the Shoalhaven are living below the poverty line could also be attributed to the rise in serious crime.

Chief executive Nicky Sloan said about 17 per cent of the Shoalhaven population was considered to be in poverty, and the impacts were far-reaching, affecting finances and physical, mental and emotional health.

“Having high rates of poverty also affects us as a region and as a community, as when people are living so far below the poverty line, it affects their ability to participate in our community life,” she said.