Break-ins, thefts, have left many on edge – but only police should try to deal with the problem

Frightening incidents have left many Gold Coast communities on edge. But there’s only one way to deal with the problem, writes Keith Woods.

There are more than a thousand police officers on the Gold Coast.

They work their socks off, 24/7, to keep the city safe.

Statistics tell us that despite our rising population, crime on the Gold Coast is no better or worse than it was a few years ago.

Last year, police recorded 61,244 offences. That’s quite a lot, no question. But it’s actually less than the number of offences recorded in 2016, 2018 and 2019, with Covid-19 restrictions having skewed numbers downwards in 2020 and 2021.

Yet for so many people, it feels as if crime has never been worse.

The reason is simple. Crime overall may not be growing – but youth crime remains at stubbornly high levels.

The scene at Riverlinks in Helensvale in the early hours of the morning on Thursday April 27 after residents used their own vehicles to block the escape of alleged thieves.

Police statistics show that last month alone there were 272 cases of the offence most associated with wayward young people – unlawful use of a motor vehicle.

In the same month last year there were 180 cases.

The jump is far less dramatic when looked at over the course of a year, but numbers are still up.

In the 12 months to the end of April, 2530 unlawful use of motor vehicle offences have been recorded – up slightly from 2508 in the same period a year before.

That’s a lot of people deprived of their vehicles.

And it comes despite all the attention on the knotty issue from politicians, media, and most of all – our hardworking police.

It’s been distressing to see how the issue, once largely confined to areas where young criminals thought they could find expensive vehicles, has spread out to touch almost every area of the Gold Coast.

By no means do you have to be in possession of a souped-up sports car, with a lax attitude to its security, to be a victim of this problem.

A young offender carrying a 'Rambo-style' knife during an attempted break-in at Broadbeach Waters. Picture: Gold Coast Patrol Dogs K9 Security.

This column recently spoke to retired schoolteacher Joy Schloss, whose car – a 2016 Mitsubishi ASX – was stolen last month.

One of the many distressing features of this case was that Ms Schloss lives in a retirement village which, while perfectly pleasant and well-maintained, does not scream five-star luxury.

Whoever broke into her home and crept past her bed to get to the keys of that modest vehicle did so knowing they were breaking into a complex populated by older people of modest means.

They came back two weeks later and targeted another unfortunate retired person. Ms Schloss slept through the break-in at her home. Reportedly, the next victim did not, screaming when she woke to find intruders in her room.

Shocking cases like these inevitably have the community on edge.

In some areas, people are taking the law into their own hands.

Last month, residents of Riverlinks in Helensvale used their own cars to block the escape of alleged thieves from their area.

It followed a number of incidents in December where residents had confronted suspected car thieves themselves.

It’s understandable that people are frustrated, given the seemingly endless stream of awful crimes.

But the risks are hardly worth it.

Better to remember that other statistic – the more than 1000 police officers working on the Gold Coast – and leave it to the professionals to deal with these awful crimes.

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