Gold Coast crime: City risks becoming like Townsville
The Gold Coast’s crime rate is half that of Townsville. But we’ll soon catch up if one major issue is not addressed, writes Keith Woods.
Gold Coast
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COMPLETE the following sentence: “Crime is ... ”
How many people will answer “out of control”? Given the popularity of the cliche — and the alarming crimes being reported on the Gold Coast — I’d wager the majority.
They’d be wrong. Despite the horror stories, crime is yet to run rampant. But, particularly in relation to youth crime, we are on a troubling road.
Most stories don’t make the media. But they leave lasting scars on the victims.
One Gold Coast woman last week recounted how two teenagers broke into her home and stole her car.
When police caught up with the offenders, who made off with the woman’s car, they found they were carrying a machete and box cutters.
Neither spent any time behind bars, but her young son was “very affected” by the experience and the family have invested in security.
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A Bulletin reader told how he had a sawn-off rifle put to his head during a robbery at his business — the second he’d endured in six months.
Someone else had their caravan stolen.
The Gold Coast, it seems, is at something of a crossroads. Long one of the safest places on earth, could we be heading down a road that leads us to, dare I say it, the kind of crime levels encountered in Townsville?
We could if we don’t address what’s causing so many young people to be drawn to the dark side. Tougher laws and more police, though welcome, won’t solve all our problems. Remember, Townsville has the same laws, but higher crime levels. Last month there were 2727 offences recorded by police in Townsville, and 4286 on the Gold Coast. But the Gold Coast’s population is three times as big (estimated at 600,485 versus 195,430 for Townsville), meaning the incidence of crime per person is almost double.
What has set the Gold Coast apart from places like Townsville has been the environment we have created. Ours has always been a city of opportunity. Not only is the lifestyle enviable, but tens of thousand find their first jobs at places like theme parks, restaurants and surf clubs.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that way of life has taken a massive hit. Our young people face an incredibly uncertain future, heightening the possibility that those at the margins could be tempted away by the easy money of the criminal world.
It’s happened in previous economic crises. A landmark 2012 report by the United Nations Office on drugs and crime showed that “during periods of economic stress, the incidence of robbery may double, and homicide and motor vehicle theft also increase”.
“The evidence shows that crime is linked to the economic climate,” the report’s authors wrote. “Such findings are consistent with criminal motivation theory, which suggests that economic stress causes an increase in criminal behaviour.”
The current economic crisis was, of course, unavoidable. The question is, are we doing all we can to minimise the impacts? When we decide to keep borders closed and restrictions in place despite having beaten back the pandemic, are we giving enough consideration to the challenges young people face?
Or are we creating the conditions of the next Townsville?
None of this is to excuse some the thuggery seen on our streets, or the terror inflicted on innocent people who have their homes invaded and their possessions stolen.
But we know that the best way to stave off crime is to avoid creating the conditions where it can fester and grow.
Once that has been allowed to happen, more police and tougher laws can only do so much.
To use another well-worn cliche, it is like shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.
Originally published as Gold Coast crime: City risks becoming like Townsville