Bundaberg police reveal assault, property offences stats for 2020/2021

One of Bundaberg’s top cops has spoken out about the rise in violent crime in the region and revealed a common theme.

Senior Sergeant Michael McGarry.

Recent crime data has revealed a rise in violent offending in the region.

Bundaberg Police Officer in Charge Senior Sergeant Michael McGarry said the number of assaults in the region had increased by about 20 per cent in the 2020/2021 financial year.

Common assault, assault occasioning bodily harm, grievous bodily harm and wounding offences were the types of offences in the assault category; whereas domestic violence fell into a different category.

The majority of assaults, Sen Sgt McGarry explained, occurred in private dwellings, “so they’re parties known to each other”.

While only about seven per cent of assaults happened in pubs and clubs, alcohol was “usually a factor” in assaults across the board.

“If there are other factors contributing … reach out to the community service providers, there’s plenty around that can assist if there are factors contributing to those sorts of problems in and around family dynamics,” Sen Sgt McGarry said.

“It’s also very difficult for us to prevent assaults that occur in the home, we can’t be in people’s home.

“So the message is to identify the factors that are contributing to issues in and around family dynamics and reach out to service providers that are there to assist.”

Confidence in police to investigate and put people before the court and instead “use other methods to resolve matters” was also recognised as a potential contributor to the statistics.

Sen Sgt McGarry said “we can help, we will help” and that was also true for domestic violence complaints.

In better news, Sen Sgt McGarry said there had been a 25 per cent reduction in property offences which included unlawful entry with intent and break and enter type offences around the area

“That’s really pleasing,” he said.

“That’s a result of some excellent police work by Bundaberg police, Bundaberg detectives, [and] first response police about using disruption and preventive methods to identify, locate offenders quickly and get them before the court.

“But also, we’d like to thank the community for heeding our messages around their own home security and vehicle security as well.

“So a combinations of factors has resulted in these really good numbers in reduction in property offences.”

Sen Sgt McGarry said most property offences could be prevented with simple actions.

“Most property offences are opportunistic and if you’re going to leave your car unlocked, you are providing an ample opportunity for an offender to enter your vehicle and take valuables,” he said

“Again, the message is really, really clear: if you lock your car it is highly unlikely that that car will be unlawfully entered.”

Originally published as Bundaberg police reveal assault, property offences stats for 2020/2021