Search your suburbs: SA’s most dangerous neighbourhoods

Police figures have revealed which of Adelaide’s suburbs are the most crime-ridden. See where your neighbourhood ranks.

Hills residents live among the safest suburbs and towns in Greater Adelaide, statistics reveal, as crime levels return to below pre-pandemic levels in most areas.

SA Police data analysed by the Sunday Mail shows the number of crimes for every suburb per 100 residents.

Just one crime was committed in Chandlers Hill in 2020-21, compared to 12 in 2018-19, before the pandemic broke out.

The analysis reveals that most of the 10 suburbs and towns with the least crime in 2020-21 were in the Hills, including Dawesley and Bugle Ranges that recorded just one offence each.

The five metropolitan suburbs with the highest crime rates in 2020-21 were in Adelaide’s north, prompting calls for a greater focus on socio-economic inequality. Suburbs with fewer than 250 residents were excluded from the analysis.

Elizabeth – a major service hub including Elizabeth City Centre – recorded 1221 offences at a rate of 116 offences per 100 residents.

Bolivar was second, followed by Gepps Cross, Gawler and Wingfield, though crime was generally lower across those than before Covid struck.

Assistant Commissioner Scott Duval said crime rates were often higher in suburbs with big shopping complexes.

He said SA Police rolled out a new district policing model at the start of the pandemic, separating Adelaide into 48 districts with varying patrol numbers depending on crime rates.

“Understanding the crime statistics allows us to put the effort into policing that suburb in a slightly different way,” Mr Duval said.

“For us it’s very much understanding the reasons why the crime happens, where it’s happening, and then using all the intelligence-based material that we have access to, to make sure that we deploy (patrols) in the right area at the right time.”

Mr Duval said the new model would produce better results once officers on Covid duties were back on the beat.

“Implementing a district policing model in the midst of a pandemic was always going to be challenging, but the model works, and what we have seen is the crime reduction that occurs with it,” he said.

Assistant police commissioner Scott Duval. Picture: Emma Brasier

He said crime numbers were generally higher in more densely populated suburbs.

Flinders University demographer Udoy Saikia pointed to socio-economic factors, saying that in suburbs with the highest crime rates, weekly household income was $850 on average – less than half the $1800 in the safest suburbs.

He said unemployment was about 12 per cent in the most dangerous suburbs, compared to an average 3.6 per cent in the safest.

Associate Professor Saikia said young people in lower socio-economic areas needed more educational and job opportunities.

Playford Mayor Glenn Docherty said the council offered a variety of safe spaces and services to residents to be active citizens.

“Crime prevention and safety of the community is paramount,” he said. “Council also works with SAPOL on a number of initiatives that look to prevent or kerb anti-social behaviour in our community, from regulatory services to families and youth programs or events.”

Tomer Bar-Ami and his fiance Sarah Brown bought a home in Mylor in November, pictured with their alpacas and dog Yofi. Picture: Tom Huntley

MYLOR A SLICE OF PARADISE

It was the lifestyle of the hills that tempted young couple Tomer Bar-Ami and Sarah Brown to the area – the safety is justan added reward.

“The hills themselves have lured us … because of the serenity and the space, and the ability to take a big chunk of land,” Mr Bar-Ami said.

The engaged couple bought their 2ha home in Mylor in November 2020, and moved to the property from Henley Beach in April this year.

Mylor was South Australia’s sixth safest suburb, with just 0.53 crimes committed per 100 people in the last financial year. It was among four other suburbs in the Adelaide Hills that made the top 10 safest suburbs.

“The safety of it (the area) is just a bonus,” Mr Bar-Ami said.

Along with a big backyard their dog Yofi will enjoy, the property also came with two free-roaming alpacas.

Williams Real Estate agent Dee-Anne Hunt has lived in the Adelaide Hills for 24 years, and has been selling in the area for18 years.

She said the safety of the hills in crime statistics reflect the sense of community in the area.

“That’s many of the reasons people come up here, it is slightly slower paced, you are more aware of your community and what’s going on around you,” Ms Hunt said.

“I think when you get high density populations, often people get blinkers on and don’t acknowledge and be a part of that neighbourhood, whereas in the hills its very different.

“Maybe its just the great fresh air, birds and sunshine that make people feel better, so they don’t feel the necessity to do the wrong thing.”