Annual Statistical Review 2016/17 – Mackay District
Mackay District crime report
Mackay District Officer Superintendent Bruce McNab today welcomed the release of the Queensland Police Service’s Statistical Review which demonstrated a reduction in robberies, assaults and drug 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 Mackay District from 2015/16 to 2016/17 increased by 2.5 percent to 18,060 offences.
Over the 10 year period from 2007/08 to 2016/17, Mackay District recorded a decrease 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 decreased by three percent, while offences against property increased by 24.7 percent,” Superintendent McNab said.
The rate of robberies across the district decreased by 13.1 percent in the past year and decreased over the past 10 years by 0.6 percent when adjusted for population growth.
In 2016/17, unlawful use of motor vehicles increased by 19.9 percent, unlawful entry into houses increased by eight percent and unlawful entry into shops increased by 10.3 percent.
Superintendent McNab 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 9.7 percent in the past year.
“A lot of break-ins and property thefts are opportunistic and are preventable,” Superintendent McNab 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 Mackay blog and Neighbourhood Watch groups to remind the community to be actively participating in crime prevention methods.”
The number of assault offences across the district decreased by 14.5 percent.
“It is positive to see assault offences decline in the district, however 724 in the past year is still too high,” Superintendent McNab said.
“Any form of violence will not be tolerated and police will continue to focus on this unacceptable behaviour in our community.”
The number of drug offences across the district decreased by 5.3 percent.
“There were 2,840 drug offences in 2016/17, compared to 2,994 in 2015/16,” Superintendent McNab said.
Fraud offences increased by 43.6 percent. Cheque fraud decreased by 50.1 percent, while credit card fraud increased by 33.3 percent, other fraud increased by 49.5 percent, computer fraud increased from five in 2015/16 to 13 in 2016/17 and identity fraud increased from nine in 2015/16 to 44 in 2016/17.
“Over the past 10 years fraud offences have increased by 28.9 percent and with ongoing advancements in technology, fraudulent activity continues to be prevalent in our community with 905 offences reported in the Mackay District over the past 12 months,” Superintendent McNab 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 Mackay District, the rate of Domestic and Family Violence Applications decreased from 633 in 2015/16 to 581 in 2016/17, or eight percent in the rate of applications per 100,000 person.
“In 2016/17, approximately 85 percent of applications were police initiated,” Superintendent McNab said.
The number of breaches to Domestic and Family Violence Protection Orders increased from 1,138 in 2015/16 to 1,211 in 2016/17.
“The increase in reporting of breaches to 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,” Superintendent McNab 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: Mackay Crime Alert
