Interactive map reveals 2019/2020 crime rates across South Australia
Crime data for 2019/2020 shows how many offences were committed in every Adelaide suburb – including the worst, which had 130 crimes for every 100 people. See all the data via the interactive map here.
Crime in Focus
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Elizabeth has emerged as Adelaide’s most dangerous suburb, with latest figures showing the area’s crime rate has risen to worrying levels.
Analysis of SA Police data by The Advertiser shows there were 1409 criminal offences recorded in Elizabeth in the 2019/20 financial year.
With a population of 1047 – the grim numbers mean it was the most criminally saturated metropolitan suburb of the year, with more than 130 offences for every 100 residents.
The total offences were up 25 per cent from the previous year – an increase that was largely driven by a sharp spike in shoplifting.
Several of the suburbs that feature in the top 10 – including Elizabeth, Oaklands Park and Gepps Cross – contain major shopping centres.
Offences categorised as “theft from shop” in Elizabeth rose from 269 in 2018/19 to 492 in 2019/20.
Elizabeth also ranked highly on the list for assaults (68 cases), other theft (263 cases), property damage (163 cases) and obtaining benefit by deception (32 cases). In other serious offences, there was one murder, eight assaults on police officers and 18 arson attacks in the suburb.
In early September, two teenage girls allegedly carjacked a woman at the Elizabeth City Shopping Centre.
In June, a woman set fire to a 13-year-old schoolgirl’s hair on a public bus – a random attack filmed on CCTV.
Overall crime numbers also increased in surrounding suburbs Elizabeth South, Elizabeth North, Elizabeth Vale, Elizabeth Downs and Elizabeth East.
Home break-ins were particularly prevalent in Elizabeth North (77 cases), Elizabeth Downs (76 cases), Elizabeth Park (74 cases), Elizabeth East (74 cases) and Elizabeth South (61 cases).
Nicole Taylor, who has lived on Short Road in Elizabeth for 15 years, said her home suburb had a “bad reputation”.
She said living there was mostly enjoyable, except for “occasional rowdiness” and people stealing things from her front yard.
“Someone ripped my plant out a couple of weeks ago, I wasn’t happy about that,” she said.
“It was a new purple plant my husband got. He put it up the end (of the garden) and he really liked that one.
“We had a windmill out the front when we moved in and someone tried walking off with that – a lot of people just steal random stuff”.
Ms Taylor, who runs a successful cake business out of her home, said other than petty theft, her family had never been victims of physically harmful crime, such as assaults or home invasions.
“We do notice when there’s assaults and stuff in the area. When it hits the news it does feel close to home.”
Port Adelaide, with a population of 1276, also saw an increase in crime, joining Elizabeth as one of the most criminally active suburbs per capita.
There were 841 offences in total in Port Adelaide over the 2019/20 financial year – up from 688 the previous year.
Common offences in Port Adelaide included trespassing on commercial properties, assaults, property damage and theft. Besides the CBD, Port Adelaide was the worst suburb for the offence of receiving or handling the proceeds of crime.
Analysis revealed the Adelaide Hills remained one of South Australia’s safest havens, with little to no crime in many of its suburbs.
Uraidla, Lower Hermitage and Mylor were among the quietest suburbs to call home, while the Yorke Peninsula was one of the safest regional areas to live.
Uraidla – home to about 600 people – recorded just one criminal offence in the 2019/20 financial year. It was a serious criminal trespass offence at a non-residential property.
Lower Hermitage, with a population of about 236, also only recorded one break-in at a non-residential property. Meanwhile, Mylor had just five crimes across its population of more than 1132, which were two break-ins, a serious assault, a car theft and one uncategorised offence.
Numbers showed other Hills suburbs, including Piccadilly, Cherry Gardens, Ironbank Longwood and Ashton all had low crime per capita rates.
Coromandel Valley and Hawthorndene in the foothills were among some of the biggest improvers for crime, with rates rapidly declining in both suburbs since 2012/13.
Over the past year, sharp declines in crime were spotted in many of Adelaide’s southern suburbs, including the cluster of Flagstaff Hill, O’Halloran Hill, Happy Valley, Reynella East and Woodcroft.
In the west, a pocket of suburbs containing West Croydon, Welland, West Hindmarsh, Torrensville and Brooklyn Park all declined in criminal activity.
A large swath of northwest suburbs, such as Taperoo, Largs Bay and Semaphore Park, saw a significant increase in crime. Adelaide’s inner north also worsened, with Prospect, Kilburn, Blair Athol and Regency Park all recording increases.
REGIONS HELP TO FIGHT CRIME
Already known for its pristine beaches and amazing fishing, the Yorke Peninsula has now emerged as one of South Australia’s safest regional areas to call home.
Crime has dropped in both Yorketown and Minlaton – two of the main towns on the peninsula – which has resulted in some of the lowest per capita rates across regional SA.
In Yorketown, home to 1026 residents, there were only four crimes reported in the 2019/20 financial year – down from 17 the year before. Minlaton, meanwhile, had five offences across a population of 1132, which was a notable decrease from 22 offences in the previous year.
Edithburgh, however, yielded a higher rate with 14 offences across its population of 520 – but crime in the town has dropped by 67 per cent since 2012.
Yorketown resident Teresa Haywood said the area had low crime rates because “everyone knows each other and we take notice of what’s happening within our town”.
“When we go away, our neighbours keep an eye on our home, (but) we are pretty vigilant.
“We are not naive, because we know we get a lot of visitors to our area, so we do lock up and keep things secure.”
Mrs Haywood, who has lived in Yorketown for 25 years, said: “We are all very focused on making sure that as a community we thrive – it’s a fantastic place to live.”
Yorke Peninsula Council mayor Darren Braund said the bushfires in November 2019 helped make the area even more community focused.
“I think people look after one another, which was heightened during the bushfires,” he said.
“We also have a pretty good relationship with the police presence we’ve got here, and they do a great job of working with the community.”
Many other regional South Australian areas had low crime rates in 2019/20, including around the Clare Valley. Armagh, with a population of just over 300, recorded zero offences. Stanley Flat, home to about 430, had only two crimes during the year.