Property crime on the rise in city

POLICE are tracking a group of young offenders causing havoc across the city after a recent spike in property crime tilts Townsville’s crime trajectory back uphill.

Queensland Police data shows 63 unlawful use of a motor vehicle offences have been recorded in the past month, with seven stolen cars still missing.

In the 24 hours to Wednesday morning, five cars were stolen from across Townsville, including two from the same home at

Mount Louisa and one from the Townsville Airport.

Break-ins have also spiked, with 43 offences of unlawful entry recorded in the past week and 200 in last month. The recent increase is a stark difference to a lull of crime from April, with car crime almost doubling since June. In February, more than 600 break-ins were recorded.

Townsville District

Eastern Patrol Group Inspector Damien Crosby said that the recent spike in car crime was because of a small group of offenders.

“Operation Romeo Seville commenced late last year and remains ongoing. As of (Tuesday), 821 offenders had been arrested on more than 2800 charges,” he said.

“It is likely that this recent spike can be attributed to a small group of recidivist property offenders.

“We will make every effort to quickly identify and arrest them, with a view to opposing bail and having these offenders removed from the community.

“Most importantly our intent is to remove them from the community so they can’t reoffend,” he said.