Residents unsafe, Labor voters say state is ‘soft on crime’ in polling shock

Premier Steven Miles says the state government has ‘more police in the field than ever’ despite brutal polling revealing even Labor voters have lost faith amid the crime crisis. SEE THE POLL RESULTS

• Analysis: Two troubling figures

Half of all regional Queenslanders feel unsafe in their homes and a third of Labor voters say the government is too soft on youth crime, striking new polling reveals.

UComms polling of 1500 Queenslanders, commissioned by The Courier-Mail, reveals 56 per cent of people living in regional Queensland felt somewhat or very unsafe in their home and community due to youth crime.

It is significantly higher than the 41 per cent of South East Queensland residents who reported concerns about their personal safety.

A staggering two-thirds of respondents – including one-third of Labor-aligned voters – say the Palaszczuk/Miles government has been too soft on youth crime.

That view is highest, at more than 70 per cent, among people aged 51 and older.

It comes as under-fire Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll is set to be handed a list of concerns from hundreds of senior officers who detail issues about the leadership direction of the service.

Premier Steven Miles has refused to comment on the growing rumblings over the Commissioner’s future amid escalating speculation of internal discontent with the leadership.

Queensland Premier Steven Miles says the Queensland Police Service is well-resourced as pressure continues to mount on Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll. John Gass

The Premier said he was not going to comment on internal organisational matters within the police but when pressed about concerns over morale in the force he said: “I talk to our police a lot and that’s not what they tell me”.

“They are well-resourced – we have more police in the field than ever,” Mr Miles said.

“We are responding quickly to their requests for support.”

Mr Miles said there had been a significant increase in police numbers in the Ipswich region and said police numbers were growing as more recruits began and completed their academy training.

But he was unable to reveal the attrition rate within the force, which has been flagged by police figures as a growing concern that is stretching the workforce.

Mr Miles said he wasn’t surprised by the disturbing revelations in a poll commissioned by The Courier-Mail that 45 per cent of Queenslanders don’t feel safe in their home or community.

The Premier will meet with his Cabinet in Ipswich later today where the issue of youth crime is expected to feature prominently.

The city’s mayor, Teresa Harding, will attend the special meeting as community calls grow to increase police presence at the Redbank Plains Town Square – the shopping centre where grandmother Vyleen White was allegedly murdered.

“I know what that poll was telling us because I talk to Queenslanders and they have been saying the same thing to me,” Mr Miles said.

“They have been concerned about community safety, especially concerned in the wake of that awful murder we saw at Redbank Plains just a couple of weeks ago.

“I don’t think those survey results are surprising.

“You’ll know that we’ve heard that message just by how much we’ve been focused on community safety, how much we’ve been talking about community safety.

“It’s my job to work with the police to rebuild that sense of community safety and that’s absolutely what we’re focused on.”

The polling also revealed the high number of Queenslanders feeling unsafe in their home or community comes despite just 14 per cent of respondents revealing they have been a victim of youth crime.

Victims say they are “too scared to go out now after dark” and reported incidents of house break ins, cars being stolen and then written off.

Across the state, 55 per cent of Queenslanders felt somewhat or very safe in their home and community compared to 45 per cent of those who did not.

Queenslanders aged over 35 are more likely to feel unsafe than those aged 18-34.

People aged 65 and over were split about their personal safety, with 51 per cent reporting feeling safe and 49 per cent unsafe.

The youth crime issue remains split down party lines, however, with 80 per cent of Labor-aligned respondents reporting feeling safe, compared with just 33 per cent of those leaning towards the LNP.

When asked what actions the state government should take to address youth crime, 20 per cent of respondents called for youth offenders for serious crimes to be treated as adults and 18 per cent say mandatory minimum sentences should be in place so youths know the punishment before committing the crime.

Parents should also be held criminally responsible for their child’s actions, according to 12 per cent of Queenslanders.

Better rehabilitation programs and bootcamps were also flagged by 9 per cent of respondents as avenues the government should focus on.

People also argued youths should be sent to the Australian Defence Force to undertake “mandatory time in the army”, while another called for “serious jail time for murders, especially with knife attacks”.

The polling demonstrates the ongoing challenge for Premier Steven Miles in attempting to crackdown on youth criminals and convince voters the government is able to keep them safe.

Youth Justice Minister Di Farmer on Sunday said the government was working to keep children out of the criminal system and announced a $78m package to employ 40 of an eventual 78 workers who would undertake intensive case management for students with high levels of suspension or exclusion from school.

Premier Steven Miles in Question Time last week. Picture: John Gass/NCA NewsWire

Ms Farmer said the recruitment was also under way for four core Children’s Court liaison officers and 16 youth transitional officers, who would be tasked with getting children back to school.

“We know that the strongest indicator a young person will end up with the youth justice system is if they are disengaged from education by the time they are seven years old,” she said.

“Not every child who is disengaged, ends up in the youth justice system but every child who is in the youth justice system is disengaged from education.”

Ms Farmer noted the government would make a decision on whether to expand police wanding powers to shopping centres “quite soon I think, in the next few months”.

She said the delay was due to consultation with police and stakeholders to ensure the government was “doing it in the right way”.

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli noted reports in The Sunday Mail about how brazen young gangs were using their lavish lifestyle to recruit new members.

“The way it stops is by getting serious about rewriting the Youth Justice Act which has been the piece of legislation that has enabled them to run riot,” he said.

“We must remove detention as a last resort, we must get serious about early intervention.

“What are the best and brightest ideas from throughout the globe that we can bring to Queensland to nip in the bud the pipeline of youth criminals.”