Qld politics: Damning crime stats show scale of job facing Premier David Crisafulli
New crime victim data is a wake-up call for Queenslanders and a blow to Premier David Crisafulli’s crusade. VOTE IN OUR POLL
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Queensland households are more likely to be broken into than those of any other state, new crime victim data has revealed.
The figures, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, also revealed the estimated number of attempted break-ins in the state was higher than NSW and Victoria combined.
The proportion of Queenslanders falling victim to break-ins rose in 2023-24 to 2.7 per cent, up from 2.3 per cent in 2022-23.
It is estimated there were 59,200 break-ins in 2023-24, higher than the 53,600 in NSW.
The release of the data showing an increasing number of victims of property crime comes nearly six months after Premier David Crisafulli won a state election based on a promise to make Queensland safer.
He has promised to stand aside as premier if the number of crime victims in Queensland by 2028 isn’t lower than what they were before he took office.
Bond University criminologist Dr Terry Goldsworthy said the latest statistics were in line with what Queensland crime data from the last two years had shown.
The statistics from ABS refer to interviews conducted through a survey. The experiences occurred in the 12 months prior to interview – between July 2023 and June 2024.
“When you’re talking about surveys that may catch people who haven’t reported their crime, it would be reflective of the police figures, and may, in fact, be a bit worse,” he said.
“Because you have people there who haven’t necessarily reported their matters to the police.
“This data is how you kind of gauge if the police data is accurate, by doing a different assessment of victimisation.”
Lyndy Atkinson, an advocate of anti-crime community group Voice for Victims, said residents were “absolutely terrified”.
“They’re leading a blissful life one moment, and in an instant, their lives are turned upside down forever,” she said.
“They’re taking so long to get over this sort of thing. It’s not just the fact that they get assaulted or even stabbed, it’s the fact that their whole life has been violated.”
The data from ABS showed total physical assault and/or threatened assaults had decreased from 198,000 in 2022-23 to 174,100 in 2023-24.
The victimisation rate decreased from 4.7 per cent to 4 per cent.
A Queensland police spokesman said they were committed to keeping the community safe as well as reducing, deterring and disrupting offenders.
Police Minister Dan Purdie said the alarming figures were why Queensland voted out the former government.
“The Crisafulli government is delivering the fresh start Queenslanders voted for, and there are early signs our tough new Making Queensland Safer Laws are putting Queensland on the path to fewer victims,” he said.
“We are backing our police, through the tripling of the State Flying Squad and extra funding for high visibility operations, to help turn the tide on Labor’s Youth Crime Crisis.”
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Originally published as Qld politics: Damning crime stats show scale of job facing Premier David Crisafulli
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