Burleigh crime: Pleas for change after spate of incidents in Gold Coast suburb

A lifelong Burleigh Heads local says he knows the exact moment his beloved suburb was losing its lustre.

Burleigh Heads is considered somewhat of a fallen icon.

Lifelong Burleigh Heads local Terry “Tappa” Teece says he realised his beloved suburb was losing its lustre a couple of years ago as he sat eating a fish and chips dinner with his son and saw police patrolling the streets and “trouble” walking through the door.

“There’s so many crew getting around Burleigh now coked off their heads, blind drunk or both,” said Mr Teece, 59, a well-known Gold Coast surf reporter and prominent Burleigh Boardriders Club member.

“It just seems like the last five years it’s really gone downhill.”

A once tranquil suburb famed for its picturesque national park headland, world-class surf and village vibe, Burleigh has been hit by a wave of violence and anti-social behaviour in recent years as new bars and clubs sprang up and the area emerged as the Glitter Strip’s new night-life hotspot.

Incidents including the fatal alleged bashing of Cameron Duce last month, followed by another violent assault last week which left another young Gold Coast man with a badly broken jaw, have helped give Burleigh a black eye.

Surfer Terry Teece has gone into bat for Burleigh. Picture: Glenn Hunt

Police crime maps reveal a cluster of 249 assaults in and around the Burleigh CBD since 2019, with almost half of them occurring between 10pm and 6am.

The maps also show a cluster of 345 drug offences and 396 liquor offences in the area over the same five-year period.

Locals including Teece and former senior detective turned Bond University criminologist Terry Goldsworthy fear the problem will only get worse when the light-rail extension from Broadbeach to Burleigh opens next year.

“If people think the so-called Burleigh Heads vibe is going to stay when the light rail comes to town, they’re living in a dream world,” Dr Goldsworthy said.

“It’s already changing and the light-rail will only accelerate that. We know the trams attract criminals and they’re going to stop at Burleigh Heads. It’s still years away from going to the airport, so Burleigh is going to be the termination point for all the troublemakers from the light rail.”

Hundreds gathered at Burleigh Heads for a candlelight vigil for young Gold Coast man Cameron Duce. Picture: Supplied

Dr Goldsworthy, who has lived in Burleigh for more than two decades, said he had seen the suburb change significantly from a laid-back seaside village to a bustling party precinct.

“I used to stay at the Tallebudgera Caravan Park as a kid – you’d walk into Burleigh and there were bakeries, butcheries, newsagents – it was a service industry area where you went to get things and do things,” he said.

“All the service industries like the banks and the post office have moved out and they’re slowly but surely being replaced by businesses that operate at night.

“My 19-year-old daughter goes down there all the time and I tell her to be very careful because, as the police crime maps show, there’s high levels of drug use down there and a high level of violence and property crime,” he said.

“I’d advise any young woman or man, ‘don’t be working around Burleigh Heads by yourself on a Friday or Saturday night’.”

Mr Teece said: “Burleigh’s become a new night-life hub, because there are restaurants that are really nightclubs, and a lot of locals have had enough.”

“There’s always been a bit of violence around but now you’ve got huge numbers of people coming to Burleigh,” he added.

“I really fear for Burleigh once this light-rail comes in, because I think it’s going to mean even more people. We don’t have a local police station or the infrastructure to support the sheer numbers of people that are coming.”

Burleigh Heads does actually have a police station – at West Burleigh – but it houses only the CIB.

“It’s a no-man’s land,” Dr Goldsworthy said.

“You’ve got the Burleigh police station full of detectives but it’s not their job to walk the beat.”

Earlier this month, area city councillor Josh Martin said he supported extra safety measures but cautioned against declaring Burleigh a Safe Night Precinct to help crack down on violence, fearing it could lead to the suburb becoming another Surfers Paradise or Broadbeach.

Attempted robbery in Burleigh. Picture: Queensland Police Service

“We don’t want to set the tone so that it’s going to become a night precinct because Burleigh has a unique night-time economy,” he said.

“It’s got fantastic bars but we don’t want to replicate Broadbeach or Surfers Paradise because it’s a totally different speed of economy.”

But Dr Goldsworthy said this was a “moronic approach”, with two licensed venues in the area already operating until 3am and no Safe Night Precinct “safety nets” in place such as saturation policing.

“If you don’t have a Safe Night Precinct, where are the troublemakers going to come to? Burleigh,” he said.

Burleigh’s LNP candidate, former Gold Coast City councillor Hermann Vorster, has pledged a $4.1m “community safety plan” for Burleigh if his party wins today’s election, including a permanent police beat, local liquor accord and $500,000 for extra CCTV cameras.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate, meanwhile, has promised an extra 40 CCTV cameras for the suburb when the light-rail extension opens.

Mr Duce’s family, who farewelled Cameron at an emotional funeral service last week, have been campaigning for beefed-up security in Burleigh as part of a #Justice4Cam campaign.

Mr Teece said: “Never in my life did I think I’d looking over my shoulder in Burleigh, worrying someone’s going to king hit you. I never thought that day would come.”

Originally published as Burleigh crime: Pleas for change after spate of incidents in Gold Coast suburb