Gladstone LGA crime down during COVID

“At least 50 per cent of those offences are due to proactive policing,” says Acting Inspector Shaune English.

Acting Inspector Shaune English.

A COMBINATION of proactive policing and COVID-19 restrictions has seen crime in the Gladstone Local Government Area drop in the past quarter, says Acting Inspector Shaune English.

During the period between March 25 and June 24, there were 1183 offences recorded in the LGA, according to the Queensland Police Service online crime map.

“At least 50 per cent of those offences are due to proactive policing,” Acting Insp English said.

“About 40 per cent are offences that have been committed that we need to investigate.

“March 15 was the start of COVID restrictions, so there has been reductions in some crime areas because obviously you have got more people at home.

“There hasn’t been any major spike in any category over that period.”

Drug offences were the most prolific crime recorded with 358, followed by 207 traffic offences.

“The drug offences could be as a result of operations that have been shut down by police or investigations that have been conducted,” Acting Insp English said.

“Also with drugs it could be by stopping someone, talking to them and getting a bit suspicious and finding drugs on them.

“The traffic statistics are sometimes offences that have been reported by the public, but quite often it’s stuff that we find when we are out on patrols.”

There were 160 offences of other theft, 149 good-order offences like public nuisance and trespass, and 80 other property damage offences including damage to public property, buildings or government property.

“A lot of the property offences and theft are opportunistic – stuff left in the back of utes, people not locking their cars, people not locking their houses,” Acting Insp English said.

“The best way to push those trends down are to not give anyone the opportunity, so lock your doors, don’t leave stuff sitting in the back of a ute unless it’s locked away.

“Most people won’t work to break into a house, they will only get in if they can easily, so the harder you make it, by even just locking doors and windows, that will reduce your chances of a break and enter significantly.”

Gladstone, primarily due to its population density, registered 1014 of the offences, with Boyne Tannum recording 81 and Benaraby 49.

“If I look at Gladstone patrol group in general, it’s not somewhere we consider to be a high crime area,” Acting Insp English said.

“Gladstone area in general, just because there are more people, you’re going to get more crime.

“In a lot of ways, population is the biggest driver of crime.”

The end of the working week was when most offences were recorded, with a peak of 199 crimes on Friday and 194 on a Thursday.

The most common time across the week when offences occurred in the Gladstone LGA was between 2pm and 10pm.

“With the number of crimes occurring at toward the end of the week it’s just a matter that we have more police working then so they find more offences being committed,” Acting Insp English said.

He said the only areas of policing operation restricted by COVID were static RBTs and speed cameras.

“Both of those are back up and running now and have been for a couple of weeks,” he said.