What to do about crime epidemic in Coast’s north
The northern Gold Coast has become a hot spot for everything from crime to domestic violence to suicide. Here’s what can be done to help, writes Ann Wason Moore.
Opinion
Don't miss out on the headlines from Opinion. Followed categories will be added to My News.
WE need to talk about the northern Gold Coast.
There is something – well, many things – happening there … and it isn’t good.
I don’t mean to cast aspersions on the suburbs or the people of our growth corridor, there are many fabulous neighbourhoods and of course wonderful families and individuals, but we need to make an honest appraisal of what is rapidly becoming, generally and literally, the wrong side of the tracks.
From gangs of youths travelling by train, to being labelled as a hot spot for everything from crime to domestic violence to suicide, we need to help our northern neighbours. Now.
Much has been made of a need for more police numbers in the suburbs surrounding Coomera, and it is difficult to argue against this – although some have.
Just last week, Coomera MP Michael Crandon and more than 1000 community members joined forces to fight for a new police hub and an influx of officers in the fastest-growing region in Australia.
Mr Crandon provided data showing calls for service in Coomera jumped 57 per cent in the nine months to February 28, with another 2602 offences reported in the division between February 28 and May 31.
However, the Queensland Police Service have snubbed calls to beef-up the police presence in the suburb, saying there is “sufficient staff and resources”.
SUBSCRIPTION OFFER: GET FULL DIGITAL ACCESS + JABRA WIRELESS HEADPHONES
Meanwhile, domestic violence has reached epidemic levels in the north, with Coomera again topping the charts when it comes to DV cases.
Coomera, Mudgeeraba and Nerang police attended to 792 DV-related incidents in 2017 and processed 756 applications for orders. There were 699 breaches.
By comparison, Southport had 392 incidents, 443 police applications and 596 orders all related to domestic violence.
Add to that the fact that Coomera and Nerang policing divisions total 101 officers, versus Southport with 99 police.
Meanwhile, the northern corridor of the Gold Coast is the most crime riddled, with Southport and Coomera police divisions topping every category of crime for the region.
The cry for more police seems beyond justified.
Yet the level of policing is only part of the problem. And while obviously both important and urgent, it should not necessarily even be our priority.
MORE NEWS
Famous fine dining restaurant to close
Staff resort to prayer as private school rocked
Dire warning for construction industry
Instead of focusing on what to do when a crime occurs, let’s focus on actually preventing the crime.
That means asking some tough questions about why the northern end has become a hot spot for crime, gangs, domestic violence and suicide.
And yes, the truth may hurt.
Demographics compiled by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that our northern suburbs are populated by young people, particularly young families, with far greater proportion of renters than homeowners and higher unemployment.
In 2016, the median age in Coomera was 28, versus 38 for Gold Coast City; 43 per cent were couples with children, versus 28 per cent for the Gold Coast; 58 per cent were renting, versus 34 per cent for the Gold Coast, and unemployment was at 7.9 per cent, versus 7 per cent for the Gold Coast.
In Pimpama it’s a similar story: median age is 27 years; 37 per cent of residents are couples with children; 63 per cent were renting; and the unemployment rate was 8.6 per cent.
So what does this mean? These are young people, no doubt many new arrivals away from their support networks, they have young kids — which any parent knows means high stress; they are renting, which means the financial pressure of trying to source a deposit for a home or living under the threat of lease termination as well as the inability to put down solid roots. Add higher levels of unemployment and you’re looking at a big problem.
Speaking to suicide prevention expert Glen Wallwork this week, he says the pressure cooker of financial and relationship stress are typical triggers for crisis – mental health issues not necessarily included. These crises manifest not just as suicide but violence and crime as well.
So what can we do?
Well, I’m not exactly sure. I’m not an expert – but I am alarmed by the figures. And credit to my colleague Paul Weston for shining a light on these northern issues.
But here’s an idea. As well as lobbying for more police, we need more support networks. We need community leaders to bring neighbours together, not necessarily to talk about problems – but just to talk.
It’s one of the reasons it was so devastating when NightQuarter at Helensvale was forced to shut its doors. It was one of the few options for suburban socialisation on the northern end.
Sure, Burleigh and Palm Beach and even Nobby’s have their own problems, but they also have a dynamic environment of businesses and engaged residents. We need to foster this in the north.
It’s not an easy fix, it’s not a matter of simply calling in the police cavalry, it will take time and it will take effort.
We should not be discouraged simply because we don’t yet have a solution … the first step is finding the courage to admit there is a problem.
This is our city, our neighbours, we should not ignore what is happening in our own backyard but lean across that broken picket fence to help.
A year since October 7, what has happened to Australia?
As protests around the world mark a year since the October 7 attack on Israel, US correspondent Tom Minear says he does not recognise how Australia has changed since then.
Are you sabotaging your child’s future?
With so many students becoming more anxious, distracted and sleep-deprived, this neuroscience expert is proposing parents implement these measures now, before it is too late.