Rise in property crime recorded in Blackmans Bay and Kingston

Police are facing “ongoing challenges” in their fight to tackle a group of recidivist group of young criminals who are driving up crime and targeting a greater Hobart community. What police have asked residents to do.

Police are asking the Kingborough community to report incidents of crime as they happen.

Police are facing “ongoing challenges” in their fight to tackle a group of recidivist young criminals who are driving up crime and targeting a greater Hobart community.

Recent data quoted by Tasmania Police shows an increase in property crime in private dwellings, retail outlets and outbuildings in the Blackmans Bay and Kingston suburbs.

Kingston Inspector Colin Riley said there was a “very small number” of recidivist offenders including youths and young adults, who were committing these crimes.

He said frontline officers had spoken of “ongoing challenges” in dealing with those offenders.

“Right now we have a hotspot in the Kingston shopping precinct and it’s predominantly around unsociable behaviour and also shoplifting,” Inspector Riley said.

Recent data quoted by Tasmania Police shows an increase in property crime in private dwellings, retail outlets and outbuildings in the Blackmans Bay and Kingston suburbs.

Speaking to media on Monday morning, Inspector Riley painted a contradictory figure, saying

police data had actually shown a decrease in reported crimes and offences over the last 20 years.

It comes as Kingborough residents regularly post instances of property crime on a local community Facebook page.

“We bring our resources in at the right time, but we can’t do that unless people are reporting crime, telling us what’s going on,” he said.

“ ... We know who they [recidivist offenders] are and all we need to do is have that information from the public that something’s about to commence or is commencing and we’ll interdict at that point in time.”

Inspector Riley urged residents to also report the incidents directly to police.

“What we need is members of the public to report or dob in an offender, but also to contact us when an offence is about to occur or is occurring. Give us the opportunity to interdict that suspect before it’s committed,” he said.

The message was echoed by Kingborough Council mayor Paula Wriedt.

“Recently, a friend of mine said that her car had been broken into and her daughter’s car had been broken into. She posted it on social media, but she didn’t ever report it to police even though some items have been stolen,” Ms Wriedt said.

“That doesn’t assist in detecting a pattern of behaviour, potentially gathering evidence and then finding who is actually responsible for those crimes. 

“(It’s) frustrating when there are reports on social media about crimes being committed and people being victims of crime within the Kingborough area, but those crimes are then not reported to the local police.”

Unlawful and anti-social behaviour can be reported to police on 131 444.