What suburbs thieves are targeting on the Coast

Find out what the property hot spots for thieves on the Sunshine Coast are.

Property thefts are down on the Coast this year because more people are spending time at home.

With more people staying at home during COVID-19, property thefts are the lowest they have been for several years on the Coast.

Queensland Police Service statistics for March to May this year show property crimes have dropped by 12 per cent compared to the same period in 2019.

It found Maroochydore and Caloundra were the Coast hot spots, with 193 and 173 offences respectively.

THE NUMBERS

Number of unlawful entry, other property damage and stealing from dwellings offences from March to May:

2017: 995 offences across the three categories

2018: 1090 offences

2019: 1034 offences

2020: 907 offences

Sunshine Coast CIB officer-in-charge Daren Edwards said a task force was implementing a greater focus on community safety and security.

He encouraged residents to not have such a relaxed approach when it came to their property.

“Target-hardening, education, raising awareness, developing good habits with security in the community is a continued focus for us,” he said.

“While we have had good results on arresting and charging offenders, we think we can achieve more better outcomes working with the community on these points.”

Detective Senior Sergeant Daren Edwards said while there were more thefts in some suburbs than others, thieves don’t seem to be targeting any specific suburb on the Coast, but rather residents’ relaxed home and vehicle security causing the spike in areas.

In recognition of the declining risk of home claims during COVID-19, Sunshine Coast insurer Youi is offering customers a discount on home insurance premiums.

“Because many of our customers are spending more time at home at the moment their homes are safer, so the fair thing to do is to support them as much as possible by passing on our savings to them,” CEO Hugo Schreuder said.

Queensland Police crime statistics for Sunshine Coast.

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