Wide Bay’s most dangerous and safest suburbs revealed

Crime map figures have painted a clear picture of some of the safest and more dangerous suburbs across the Wide Bay.Is your area listed?

Some of the suburbs and towns around the Wide Bay with the most crime in the last 12 months include Bundaberg Central, Gympie, Urangan and Pialba.

Despite more than 12 months of restrictions and on and off Covid lockdowns, one of the only things that hasn’t stopped during the pandemic is crime.

In the last 12 months, more than 18,000 offences have been reported to police across the Wide Bay Burnett police district.

According to the QPS crime map, some of the most common offences reported were theft, closely followed by traffic and drug related crimes.

As a whole, the district also recorded 880 property damage offences, 810 assaults and 35 cases of arson.

The Bundaberg police division recorded 5900 offences in the last financial year.

On the Fraser Coast, the Hervey Bay police division recorded 4800 offences, with Maryborough sitting at 2600.

Gympie’s police division recorded 2300 offences in the last financial year.

QPS District Officer for the Wide Bay Burnett District Superintendent Michael Sawrey said crime stats were measured by financial year and while some rates were lower, there was a concerning increase in assaults.

Wide Bay District Officer Superintendent Michael Sawrey.

“Some classes of offences against the person saw increases throughout the Wide Bay Burnett District - most concerning were assaults at a 22 per cent increase,” he said.

“More people have been in their homes for longer during Covid times and unfortunately, more assault complaints have been made to police.

“The increase in assaults is consistent across Queensland.

“Increases in assaults is a concern, and it would be our preference for people to resolve their disagreements in a more peaceful manner.”

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However, it’s not all bad news.

Superintendent Sawrey said domestic violence order contraventions dropped by 2.3 per cent.

“Property offences including unlawful entry decreased during 20021 by 22.6 per cent. That includes break and enters of dwellings, shops and buildings,” he said.

“Other property offences also decreased. Stealing from motor vehicles saw a decrease of 19.9 per cent.

“We’re contributing the decrease to the community being more security conscious and taking more care with property and there’s been an increase in the use of higher quality CCTV.

“From a policing perspective there’s been ongoing proactivity in police patrolling, targeting known offenders and hotspot locations, to disrupt and deter offending behaviour.

“We’re really adopting a prevention and disruption approach.”

Senior Constable Brittany Duncan from Bundaberg police said some of the most common offences in that area were unlawful entries of cars.

Just last week, Bundaberg police released CCTV images of a person who allegedly unlawfully entered a number of unlocked vehicles.

“Each year we see a high number of unlawful entry to motor vehicles offences occurring in the region,” she said.

“However, the majority of these offences involve vehicles that are parked outside residences and left unlocked overnight.

“This can be very frustrating as we are constantly reminding people to lock it or lose it. Unfortunately, we no longer live in a society where it’s okay to leave your vehicle unlocked overnight.

“Thieves are opportunistic and will take advantage of a vehicle that is left unlocked.”

Looking through the QPS cluster crime map, the suburbs and towns with higher crime rates were those which were more populated and in city centres.

In the past 12 months, Bundaberg Central recorded a total of 1092 offences, with the most common being theft and good order.

Bundaberg’s main street, Bourbong St, and a shopping centre are located in Bundaberg Central, and it is also home to Bundaberg’s weekend nightlife venues.

Places with a smaller population, such as Cooloola, reported fewer offences.

In the past year, Cooloola only recorded 18 offences; most of them traffic related.

Earlier this year police warned people would be caught if they were trespassing on private land at Norval Park in Yandaran.

The patch recorded 29 offences in the past year, with trespass being the most common.

Listed below are just some of the higher and lower crime numbers reported from around the Wide Bay.

Please note the suburbs listed below are based on data from the QPS crime map, with numbers changing as the days change.

The suburbs listed in the fact boxes above are also just a selection from the entire Wide Bay region.

Originally published as Wide Bay’s most dangerous and safest suburbs revealed