Worst Southeast QLD shopping centres for crime revealed

Police data has revealed a Brisbane shopping centre was hit by 1292 crimes in the past year, including 26 weapons offences and four robberies. SEE THE LIST OF 50 CENTRES

Police data has revealed a vast gap between southeast Queensland’s most crime-prone shopping centres and those overlooked by crims.

Despite better policing techniques, better camera surveillance and a long-term fall in the state’s crime rate, the top five centres recorded more than 3500 offences in the past 12 months. But the safest centre recorded only seven crimes.

The big regional centres, dominated by Scentre Group (Westfield) were not surprisingly at the top of the pile according to the QPS online crime map data.

Westfield’s vast number of customers, particularly younger people, great public transport links and attractiveness to petty thieves meant its outlets dominated a list of crimes at 50 southeast Queensland shopping centres.

Westfield Mt Gravatt (formerly Garden City) had the dubious distinction of being number one for offences reported at, or near, the sprawling retailer.

It recorded a total of 1292 offences, mostly for theft (789).

There were also 62 frauds, 76 drug offences, 29 assaults, four robberies, 26 weapons offences and 111 “good behaviour’’ breaches.

Westfields at Chermside (891 total offences) and Carindale (601) had the second and third highest number of incidents.

Ipswich’s Riverlink shopping centre was the only non-Westfield in the top five (543 offences), followed by Westfield North Lakes (403).

A Scentre Group spokeswoman said the safety and security of its “customers, retail partners and people is our highest priority’’.

“Our Westfield Living Centres are considered community hubs, located in close proximity to the population,’’ she said.

“Every Westfield Living Centre has its own annual Community Plan and we work in close partnership with police, emergency services, local and state authorities and our retail partners to respond to emerging issues.

“Our ongoing focus on safety, security and the wellbeing of our communities means customers can feel safe, welcome and respected when visiting us.”

QUT retail expert Gary Mortimer said crime rates in general had been falling for years and police and centre managers worked together closely to stamp out surges in crime.

Professor Gary Mortimer. Picture: Supplied

Prof Mortimer said they had to tread a very careful line between deterring criminals and attracting customers, while also staying in line with community expectations on privacy.

Kmart and Bunnings face a probe into their use of facial recognition technology by the Australian privacy watchdog, it was revealed in July.

“It’s challenging for retailers. The big centres genuinely want to attract people, so it’s a double-edged sword,’’ he said.

“They’ve been quite successful making themselves into lifestyle centres, which tends to entice a younger demographic.

“When you also have very big centres like Westfield, add in a train line, or put it in an area with young families like North Lakes, it is only natural you will get more of these incidents.’’

Prof Mortimer said societal changes played a part, with both parents often now forced to work full-time to make ends meet, which meant many children were unsupervised after school.

Timezone at Westfield Garden City. The centre has been successful in making itself a lifestyle destination, but its success also has a downside.

Over the years some shopping centres have resorted to bizarre methods to deter loitering, especially by teenagers, including playing music by crooner Barry Manilow or opera singer Pavarotti over their sound systems.

Many bigger centres have an on-site police beat, including Indooroopilly Shopping Centre (ISC) which has one operating Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

Indooroopilly Police Station is also only metres away, on Moggill Rd, helpful for conducting regular patrols of surrounding streets.

ISC general manager, Steven Ihm, has previously told Quest Newspapers they worked closely with police and other community stakeholders.

“This includes a comprehensive security management program, which is constantly reviewed and adjusted in line with the needs of the community,’’ he said.

The centre had 24-hour security patrols and CCTV coverage, including at an on-site bus stop where there was signage displaying a 24-hour security phone number.

Booval Fair alleged shop steal turns wild.

Despite having some of the region’s smaller centres, the Ipswich area had a relatively high number of reported crimes in the past 12 months.

Security has been an issue for years, including at Booval Fair where gang activity has been so bad in the past that security guards have resigned.

University of Queensland academic Dr Renee Zahnow said her preliminary research into perceptions of crime among Facebook users showed the actual level of criminality at Booval Fair and ISC was lower than many people believed.

She said Booval Fair was an example where social media reports of crime had unfairly stigmatised it as unsafe, when police data showed the opposite was true.

University of Queensland academic Dr Renee Zahnow.

Compared to other shopping centres across the Ipswich district the numbers were relatively low, she said.

Police were called more frequently to Riverlink, Orion Springfield Central and Town Square Redbank Plains.

Local Facebook pages however were awash with commentary after wild scenes outside Big W inside the centre were caught on video and two teenage girls aged 15 and 17 were charged with a number of alleged offences in July last year.

“We spoke to people who said they were now too scared to shop at Booval because of what they read online,’’ Dr Zahnow said.