The 2019-20 Crime Report Queensland, independently prepared by the Queensland Government Statisticians Office (QGSO) and released today, shows the number of unique offenders and unique youth offenders at its lowest level in a decade.
The decreased count of unique offenders in 2019-20 has resulted in the Queensland unique offender rate continuing its downward trend from a peak of 2,999 offenders per 100,000 persons in 2014-15 to 2,408 offenders in 2019-20.
In addition, the number of unique offenders in 2019-20 was down 4.5 percent from the previous year.
Notwithstanding this positive trend, disappointingly, the total number of offences rose by 2 percent in 2019-20, when compared to the previous year.
This indicates that fewer offenders are committing more crime.
Minister for Police Mark Ryan said the research undertaken by the Queensland Government Statistician’s Office would help police evaluate trends and emerging issues to deliver the best possible support for communities right across Queensland.
“Community safety is always a priority for the Queensland Government.
“We have seen that in action during the COVID-19 health pandemic with the vital role police have played on our borders, at our airports and in quarantine hotels.
“In relation to crime statistics, they provide police with a valuable tool to identify trends and issues that can inform the strategies and resource allocations that police employ.
“The starting point is always that any amount of crime is unacceptable.
“Even if the number of offenders is declining, there are still people who are victims of crime.
“By using the information in this report, police will be better equipped to respond in the best possible way to community needs.
“While this report shows that fewer Queenslanders are committing offences in the first place, the fact is, crime is still happening, and for those who are the victims the impact can be traumatic.
“That is why the Palaszczuk Government is making the biggest investment in policing in three decades.
“The government is funding more than 2,000 extra police personnel over five years from 1 July 2020.”
Deputy Commissioner Gollschewski said while there had been a two per cent increase in overall reported offences, the number of young offenders and unique offenders was trending down.
“The proportion of offenders aged under 25 years was the lowest in ten years, down from 49.3% of all offenders proceeded against by police in 2010–11 to 37.5% in 2019–20,” Deputy Commissioner Gollschewski said. “Additionally, we have seen a 4.5 per cent decrease in the number of unique offenders compared to the previous year, which is also at its lowest number in 10 years. “We want Queensland to be the safest state and we are continuing to focus on frontline services and delivering policing strategies to reduce crime in our community,” Deputy Commissioner Gollschewski said.
“The organisation is undergoing significant changes which are designed to improve our policing services, make frontline officers more visible and ensure QPS can adapt to growing demands. “Thank you to everyone for working with police as we tackle issues facing our communities together.” Minister Ryan said there were variations in the overall trends with some categories going up and others going down.
“The bottom line is that while statistics fluctuate over time, what will never change is the government’s commitment to community safety.
“Our police are better resourced than ever before, so they are fully equipped to do what they do best, and that’s target offenders.
“This government is committed to transparency, and we will continue to release this data in the interests of openness and accountability,” the Minister said.
