ROBBERIES ON RISE

RESIDENTS TOLD BE VIGILANT

POLICE are warning locals to steer clear of poorly lit areas and avoid walking alone late at night due to a surging number of violent robberies on Gold Coast streets.

Officers blame young people for the violence which has seen 84 armed robbery offences committed from September to March – 52 per cent more than the same period two years ago, when 55 such crimes were recorded.

Superintendent Craig Hanlon said police were ramping up operations in a bid to reverse the “worrying” trend, but warned residents to exercise caution in the meantime.

“It’s important that we get people to be aware of their surroundings when out and about,” Supt Hanlon said. “They should avoid places that are poorly lit, and where possible avoid wandering alone.

“And also be cautious when out socially, because you make yourself more vulnerable by consuming too much alcohol.”

Supt Hanlon said the number of armed robberies was on track to beat the 111 recorded in the 2016/2017 financial year, with 99 already recorded in the eight months to April 22.

“We’re seeing a lot of street violence, predominantly by youth. They’re opportunistic offences, people in vulnerable places getting stopped,” he said.

“Offenders might pick up a weapon they find handy – a stick or small object – to threaten people. We don’t have people walking around with shotguns and firearms.”

Bond University criminologist Wayne Petherick said viewing the crimes as “opportunistic” does not tell the full story.

“Opportunistic is saying there’s the opportunity for a crime to happen,” he said.

“But there’s also the person (offender) being predisposed to act that way, on top of there being a situation that presents itself to be exploited.

“... A lot of people, when given that same opportunity, won’t commit a crime.”

Supt Hanlon said police were targeting repeat offenders and known trouble spots to combat the problem.

“We’re targeting the light rail systems and places where large numbers of people gather,” he said.

“Intel tells us where and when offences are happening, so we try and get a picture of who the offenders are, and target those places and the times where they’re occurring.

“What we have found is that predominantly offenders don’t

travel too far from home, so if there’s an area where a lot of people are victims of crime, and someone is known to police and had action taken, we’ll target them as the offender.”