Annual Statistical Review 2016/17 – Gold Coast District
Gold Coast District overall crime decreases
Gold Coast District Officer Chief Superintendent Marty Mickelson today welcomed the release of the Queensland Police Service’s Statistical Review which demonstrated a reduction in drug, liquor and sexual 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.
When adjusted for population growth, the overall crime rate across the Gold Coast District from 2015/16 to 2016/17 decreased by 0.7 percent to 58,960 offences.
Over the 10 year period from 2007/08 to 2016/17, Gold Coast District recorded a decrease in the rate of offences against property.
“When adjusted for population growth, the overall crime rate of offences against property over the past 10 years decreased by two percent, while offences against the person increased by 27.3 percent,” Chief Superintendent Mickelson said.
The rate of robberies across the district increased by 16.6 percent in the past year though has decreased over the past 10 years by 23.1 percent.
In 2016/17, unlawful use of motor vehicles increased by three percent, unlawful entry into houses increased by 6.9 percent and unlawful entry into shops increased by 76 percent.
Chief Superintendent Mickelson 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 3.2 percent in the past year.
“A lot of break-ins and property thefts are opportunistic and are preventable,” Chief Superintendent Mickelson 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 Gold Coast blog and Neighbourhood Watch groups to remind the community to be actively participating in crime prevention methods.”
The number of liquor offences across the district decreased by 32.2 percent.
“It is positive to see offences involving liquor decline in the district, however 156 in the past year is still too high and police will continue to provide a large presence in those areas,” Chief Superintendent Mickelson said.
Fraud offences increased by 14.9 percent. Computer fraud increased by 61.3 percent, credit card fraud increased by 9.9 percent, identity fraud increased by 10.2 percent, other fraud increased by 20.2 percent and cheque fraud increased from 10 offences in 2015/16 to 22 in 2016/17.
“Over the past 10 years fraud offences have increased by 84.6 percent and with ongoing advancements in technology, fraudulent activity continues to be prevalent in our community with 4,102 offences reported in the Gold Coast District over the past 12 months,” Chief Superintendent Mickelson 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 Gold Coast District, the rate of Domestic and Family Violence Applications decreased from 623 in 2015/16 to 559 in 2016/17, or 10 percent in the rate of applications per 100,000 person.
“In 2016/17, approximately 76 percent of applications were police initiated,” Chief Superintendent Mickelson said.
The number of breaches to Domestic and Family Violence Protection Orders increased from 1,909 in 2015/16 to 2,394 in 2016/17.
“The increase in reporting of domestic and family violence can be attributed to the proactive work being done by police in the district and from the community gaining more confidence in reporting incidents to police,” Chief Superintendent Mickelson 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 2016/17 Annual Statistical Review can locate details on the QPS website at www.police.qld.gov.au.
Source: Gold Coast Crime Alert
