Townsville only Qld region where crime rates fail to drop, minister Laura Gerber admits

The government has vowed to do better after offences failed to drop in one of the most crime ravaged cities in the state.

Laura Gerber and Townsville's MPs admit more work needs to be done on the city's youth crime crisis.

The only place in Queensland where crime rates have not dropped is Townsville, with a senior minister conceding “more work needs to be done”.

Youth Justice Minister Laura Gerber backed in the state government’s adult crime, adult time laws, saying they were starting to see some “green shoots”, but the only offence that has had a downward trend in Townsville was robbery.

“Myself and the Crisafulli government are the first to acknowledge that,” Ms Gerber said.

“We know there’s more to be done in Townsville.”

In response to Townsville’s latest crime data, Youth Justice Minister Laura Gerber’s office said “unravelling a decade of weak laws is a process.”

“It will take time for our laws to work.”

When asked if she thought adult crime, adult time laws were not reaching the benchmark the government had been striving for, Ms Gerber said the government made a promise to Queenslanders during their election campaign to introduce the laws by Christmas last year.

“We introduced those laws and we’ve also introduced further charges,” she said.

“There are now 33 offences that are under adult crime, adult time and it will take time for those to filter through the courts, it will take time for those laws to start filtering through and taking effect.”

Ms Gerber was in Townsville for a community consultation on the Victims Advocates Service.

The community consultation roundtable was attended by victim advocates services and victims of youth crime themselves, with the discussions used to go on to form the creation of the service.

Ms Gerber said it would be a “one-stop shop” for victims of crime.

Youth Justice Minister Laura Gerber speaks in Townsville.

“There’s regional consultation happening in relation to the development of that advocate service,” she said.

“Across the state, victims have been crying out for more support. They’ve felt that they have fallen through the cracks in relation to the way the court system deals with them, in relation to the way the systems as a whole interact …”

“We know that Townsville is very different to what southeast Queensland might be experiencing.”

A recent survey by the Townsville Bulletin on youth crime outlined the toll the crisis was having on the community, with many readers sharing stories of locking up their houses each night, installing extra security measures and some even sleeping with weapons due to fear of being broken into.

Statistics show more than 320 unlawful entries were recorded in the Townsville police district in June 2025, which is a 6 per cent decrease when compared to the June 2024 unlawful entry data.

There has been an increase in stolen car charges, though, with data revealing a 17 per cent increase for June.

Ms Gerber said the laws were just ‘one pillar” of their approach, saying other initiatives such as rehabilitation programs and early intervention playing a role.

“We know there’s a lot of work to do but we are 100 per cent committed to this community,”, she said.

She announced of their programs, the Townsville Youth Crime School, would soon be going to market tender.

One of four schools outlined for the state, Ms Gerber said the school would be designed to give children that are disengaged from school and don’t fit in with “mainstream schooling”.

“ … the ability to have a pathway to education, training and ultimately a job so that they can have a future and a bit of hope,” she said.

“A pathway out of a life of crime so that they can be productive members of our community.”

Originally published as Townsville only Qld region where crime rates fail to drop, minister Laura Gerber admits