Remember when: Gold Coast police slammed petty crime spike across the city in the mid-1970s

POLICE said they were gaining ground in a drive to combat growth of “bread and butter” crime on the Gold Coast.

Gold Coast History: Gold Coast Bulletin 1974, August 14. Front page.

Gold Coast Bulletin, Wednesday August 14, 1974

POLICE said they were gaining ground in a drive to combat growth of “bread and butter” crime on the Gold Coast.

This, they said, was reflected in an increasing number of criminals as well as first-time offenders appearing before the courts each week.

The then-current economic recession had been a factor in bolstering the Gold Coast’s crime figures.

It was said the “jobless element” tended to drift into the area, affecting local unemployment numbers.

So far, most of the offences were comparatively minor but senior police were perturbed at the increase in the crime rate.

The most common offences involved stealing from houses, flats and cars, breaking and enters, shoplifting and pilfering.

They were tagged as “bread and butter crimes” by Gold Coast Police Chief Inspector Phil Barnett.

Insp Barnett said the city’s “holiday atmosphere” was to blame for the prevenance of common assaults.

“People come here on holidays and do not heed police warnings to lock their cars flats when unattended,” he said.

“We still have stealing from unlocked cars and property such as wallets and watches being stolen from the beach.

Insp Barnett said he had been issuing the warnings for two years and the response was nearly always the same — negative.

He said he had not left a stone unturned in attempting to warn holiday-makers of crime on the Gold Coast.

He had given warnings through press and radio, spoken at meetings of service clubs and even shown films on crime prevention at local theatres.