Two figures in crime polling reveal key to Premier’s election survival

In politics, perception becomes truth – and there’s a perception among Queenslanders that it’s only a matter of time before they join the list of youth crime victims, writes state political editor Hayden Johnson.

Premier Steven Miles in Question Time last week. Picture: Dan Peled/NCA NewsWire

Two numbers contained in this polling lay bare the challenge Premier Steven Miles has in fixing the baked-in perception it’s failing to keep residents safe.

First, the revelation that 45 per cent of Queenslanders don’t feel safe in their home or community is a sad indictment and unacceptable in Australia.

Secondly, just 14 per cent of people polled reported being victims of youth crime.

That disconnect between the fear of young criminals and those who have become a victim of them will concern Mr Miles and Labor’s campaign team.

Queenslanders who haven’t yet woken to find a young thug in their home likely know a neighbour who has, or have viewed grainy CCTV footage of hooded criminals roaming a street nearby.

In politics, perception becomes truth – and there’s a perception among Queenslanders that it’s only a matter of time before they join the list of victims.

For three years David Crisafulli has effectively prosecuted health, housing and integrity issues – but nothing has cut through as effectively as their criticism of crime.

Without diminishing the serious housing challenges, most Queenslanders are fortunate to have a roof over their years, and you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone in Queen Street Mall able to recall the details of the “integrity inferno” supposedly engulfing Annastacia Palaszczuk.

Not all Queenslanders will visit a hospital and the majority who do, as Health Minister Shannon Fentiman pointed out last week, struggle to fault their experience.

Crime, however, is an effective political weapon, which as the government’s polling shows, remains at the front of voters’ minds.

Revelations that half of regional Queenslanders feel unsafe in their homes and supermarkets also details the challenge Labor faces outside the southeast corner.

Expect to see Mr Miles talking tough on crime in Cairns and Townsville more often in the lead-up to the October election.

The difficulty for Mr Crisafulli, however, is distilling his message about the government’s crime failures into an effective campaign slogan – think: Jobs and growth or stop the boats.

Quickly fixing youth crime is a tough task, but fixing the political perception is a little easier.