The safest and least safe Rockhampton suburbs for property crime and how to protect yourself
Senior Sergeant Ashley Hull from the Rockhampton Crime Prevention Unit said that most property theft across the state was “opportunistic”.
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Several suburbs surrounding Rockhampton have been classified as high risk with regard to property crimes and rank among Queensland’s worst.
Insurance company Budget Direct on Thursday released its Safe Suburbs Map.
Much of South Rockhampton (postcode 4700) was marked as ‘higher risk’; it is ranked 349th of 372 in Queensland, with 267 crimes per 1,000 properties.
North Rockhampton (4701) ranked 323rd with a crime rate of 176 and postcode 4714 towards Mount Morgan ranked 314th – down 17 from the previous year – because of a crime rate of 153.
This news comes after a 17-year-old was sentenced for stealing a car from Frenchville and running over an 18-year-old at a major intersection after attempting to do a burnout.
Bucking the trend, North of Parkhurst towards Rockyview and Glendale (4711) ranked 10th in the state: it recorded a crime rate of just eight and a ‘lower risk’ classification.
At ‘moderate risk’ was postcode 4703, which takes in Yeppoon and its surrounds: that area marked a crime rate of 46 and a state ranking of 135th.
The Queensland average was 130 crimes per 1,000 properties.
At the top of the ladder for safety was postcode 4876, which encompasses New Mapoon at the tip of the state.
The least safe suburb was postcode 4830 – Nicholson on the border with the Northern Territory.
Senior Sergeant Ashley Hull from the Rockhampton Crime Prevention Unit said most property theft across the state was “opportunistic”.
“What that means is the vast majority of offenders, they’re not spending a week casing your house and planning how they’re going to break into it,” he said.
“They literally walk down the street and they look for easy opportunities.
“What they’re commonly looking for is a front door open, a window open, the garage door half way up, a valuable bike left in the front yard, those sorts of things. They’re looking for easy targets.”
He said that once inside, property that is easily carried away and concealed, as well as easy to sell or swap, were the main targets.
He gave as examples purses, wallets, jewellery, credit cards, mobile phones, and car keys.
“We’re telling people to make sure they hide their car keys,” Senior Sergeant Hull said.
“Don’t just leave them in plain sight. Modern cars cannot be stolen without the keys – it’s not like the movies in the 1980s. You need the ignition immobiliser that’s in the key.
“You can significantly reduce your chance of being a victim of a property crime by simply making sure you lock the doors and have windows secured, have the garage door down. Offenders are looking for easy targets.”
As for security cameras, he said people should do research about what suits them, paying particular importance to the video quality and night-time lighting.
“The negative of a camera is that in itself it’s not going to prevent a crime. It can be a deterrent, but it’s not a prevention.
“The positives are yes, you can get a picture, but there’s varying degrees of quality of cameras. If you’re going to buy security cameras, make sure they took good quality pictures, make sure they’re pointed in right directions.”
Queensland Police Service data show that in the past three months, there have been 171 unlawful entry, 156 ‘other property damage’, and 451 theft (excluding unlawful entry) offences in Rockhampton.
In Yeppoon, there were 29 instance of unlawful entry, 34 other property damage, and 70 theft (excluding unlawful entry).
Top five safest regional Queensland regions (percentage of suburbs that are lower than average risk):
- Darling Downs & Maranoa (including Southern Downs, St George, Roma) – 48%
- Fitzroy (Central Queensland including parts of Gladstone, Central Highlands) – 36%
- Cairns Region – 38%
- Queensland – Outback (including Barcaldine, Blackall, Cloncurry) – 33%
- Wide Bay (including Gympie, Fraser Coast and Bundaberg) – 32%
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