By Jolene Ogle
THE incidence of domestic and family violence has increased throughout the Sunshine Coast, according to the annual statistical review released by the Queensland Police Service.
In the Sunshine Coast district, which includes Noosa, Pomona, Cooroy and Eumundi, the number of domestic violence applications increased from 1368 in 2014/2015 to 1660 in the past year, a rate of 19 incidents per 100,000 people, while the number of breaches of domestic violence protection orders increased from 733 to 1018 over the same period.
Sunshine Coast District Officer Superintendent Darryl Johnson said the increase in reported incidents didn’t reflect an increase in violence, rather an increase in the community’s confidence in reporting incidents to the police.
“The increase in reports of domestic and family violence can be attributed to the proactive work being done by police in the district and from the community gaining more confidence in reporting incidents to police,” he said.
“The Queensland Police Service is committed to working in partnership with the people of Queensland to provide professional policing services that will, over time, prevent and reduce the incidents of domestic violence in Queensland.”
The annual crime rate data also showed a decrease in assaults, robberies and fraud offences across the Sunshine Coast district, but an overall increase of one per cent in crime rates.
According to the Annual Statistical Review for 2015/2016, there were 654 assaults reported in the Sunshine Coast district, plus 248 sexual offences, 30 reported incidents of stalking, 1472 reported incidents of unlawful entry, 1573 incidents of theft from cars, 943 reported incidents of fraud, three reported prostitution offences and 290 offences against the Weapons Act.
The Statistical Review represents a comprehensive insight into the level and nature of crime reported for each police district throughout Queensland, and according to the data, the overall crime rate across the Sunshine Coast district increased by one per cent to 24,494 when compared to the data from the 2014/2015 period.
Superintendent Johnson said the overall crime rate of offences against the person over the past 10 years has decreased by 35 per cent and offences against property has decreased by 27.4 per cent.
“Sunshine Coast police make no apologies for the targeting of those people who commit crime with a focus centred upon those people using and supplying dangerous drugs, which then leads to the commission of serious crimes including break and enters and armed robberies,” he said.
According to the statistical review, there were 4829 drug offences reported in the Sunshine Coast district for the 2015/2016 period, including 79 incidents of trafficking, 2208 of possessing drugs, 163 of producing drugs and 137 incidents of selling or supplying drugs.
The rate of robberies across the district decreased by 1.5 per cent in the past year, with a decreased rate of 20.6 per cent over the past 10 years, while armed robbery offences fell by 14.2 per cent in the 2015/2016 period.
“There were 49 reported robberies in the year 2015/2016, compared to 52 in 2006/2007,” Superintendent Johnson said.
The number of assaults across the district fell by 75 in the past year with a decreased rate of 11.7 per cent.
“It is positive to see assaults decline in the district, and I commend our community for the changing of behaviours, especially in our entertainment precincts,” Superintendent Johnson said.
“Anti-social behaviour cannot be accepted and even one incident is still too high, and police will continue to provide a high visibility response at locations where these offences occur.”
