Annual Statistical Review 2016/17 – Townsville District
Townsville District overall crime decreases
Townsville District Officer Chief Superintendent Kevin Guteridge today welcomed the release of the Queensland Police Service’s Statistical Review which demonstrated a reduction in sexual offences, liquor offences and traffic related offences across the district.
The Statistical Review represents a comprehensive insight into the level and nature of crime reported for each police district throughout Queensland.
The overall crime rate across the Townsville District from 2015/16 to 2016/17 decreased by 0.7 percent to 33,112 offences.
Over the 10 year period from 2007/08 to 2016/17, Townsville District recorded an increase in the rate of offences against the person.
“When adjusted for population growth, the overall crime rate of offences against the person over the past 10 years increased by 14.9 percent, while offences against property has increased by 9.4 percent,” Chief Superintendent Guteridge said.
The rate of sexual offences across the district decreased by 25.4 percent in the past year and has decreased over the past 10 years by 6.1 percent.
“There were 504 reported sexual offences in 2016/17, compared to 473 in in 2007/08 when taking into account population growth,” Chief Superintendent Guteridge said.
In 2016/17, unlawful use of motor vehicles increased by 17.4 percent, unlawful entry into houses increased by 38.5 percent and unlawful entry into shops increased by 32.1 percent.
Chief Superintendent Guteridge urges the community to be vigilant with the security to their houses, vehicles and other property items, with the rate of offences against property increasing by 7.7 percent in the past year.
“A lot of break-ins and property thefts are opportunistic and are preventable,” Chief Superintendent Guteridge said.
“We urge the community to use all available security options on their property to prevent opportunistic thefts as a result of unlocked or unsecured property.
“In addition to proactive and intelligence-led patrols, police will continue with proactive policing and community programs, such as the myPolice Townsville blog and Neighbourhood Watch groups to remind the community to be actively participating in crime prevention methods.”
The rate of traffic related offences across the district decreased by 13.2 percent in the past year and 30.1 percent over the past ten years.
The number of liquor offences across the district decreased by 6.4 percent.
“It is positive to see offences involving liquor decline in the district, however 584 in the past year is still too high and police will continue to provide a large presence in those areas,” Chief Superintendent Guteridge said.
Fraud offences have increased by 3.9 percent. Computer fraud increased by 3.1 percent, cheque fraud decreased by 42.1 percent, identity fraud increased by 272.4 percent and credit card fraud increased by 7.2 percent.
“Over the past 10 years fraud offences have increased by 39.1 percent, with ongoing advancements in technology, fraudulent activity continues to be prevalent in our community with 1,240 offences reported in the Townsville District over the past 12 months,” Chief Superintendent Guteridge said.
“This is a timely reminder to the community of the importance of adopting preventative measures and behaviours such as not providing personal information to unverified organisations or individuals, to ensure they are protected against fraud.”
In the Townsville District, the rate of Domestic and Family Violence Applications decreased from 955 in 2015/16 to 914 in 2016/17, or a four percent decrease in the rate of applications per 100,000 person.
“In 2016/17, approximately 77 percent of applications were police initiated,” Chief Superintendent Guteridge said.
The number of breaches to Domestic and Family Violence Protection Orders decreased from 2,820 in 2015/16 from 2,544 in 2016/17.
“The decrease in reporting of domestic and family violence can be attributed to the proactive work being done by police in the district,” Chief Superintendent Guteridge said.
“The QPS is committed to working in partnership with the people of Queensland to provide professional policing services that will, over time, prevent and reduce the incidents of domestic violence in Queensland.”
The Annual Statistical Review 2016-17 is available on the QPS website.
Note: All percentages used in this release relate to the number of reported offences per 100,000 people. Media seeking regional and district crime statistics from the Queensland Police Service 2015/16 Annual Statistical Review can locate details on the QPS website at www.police.qld.gov.au.
Source: Townsville Crime Alert
