CRIMS’ SUBURB HIT LIST
Cops zero in on Earlville as crime hotspots revealed
... the young kids are the biggest issue because they are the oness who smash windows during the night time Manager Cyril Berjot
RESIDENTS who live at Earlville are more than 16 times more likely to have their homes broken into than people living in Freshwater.
New police data rips the top off a crime sore that reveals the number of assaults, unlawful entry and drug-related offences recorded in the past year in suburbs between Edmonton and Palm Cove.
Earlville business manager Cyril Berjot said he had come to accept smashed shopfront windows, graffiti and drunken behaviour as normal on Mulgrave Road.
Police are targeting Earlville while southern suburbs rate higher in the crime statistics compared to the northern beaches.
RESIDENTS of Earlville are almost 16 times more likely to have their homes broken into than people living at Freshwater.
New police data has laid bare the crime hotspots across Cairns and reveals the number of assaults, unlawful entry and drug-related offences recorded in the past 12 months in neighbourhoods between Edmonton and Palm Cove.
Suburbs in the Cairns southern corridor ranked as high crime areas compared to the northern beaches, with some even coming close to recording higher numbers than known inner-west crime hotspots.
Edmonton was by far the worst of the southern suburbs, with a total of 1130 offences recorded in the 12 months to September 7.
Manunda ranked as the worst inner-western suburb, with a total of 1379 offences.
On the north side, Trinity Beach recorded the most criminal activity at the beaches with 277 offences.
But behind Cairns City and Cairns North, Earlville was the worst Cairns crime hotspot, where some shoppers have previously reported feeling unsafe in the area.
The city suburb recorded a total of 1433 offences, made up of 81 assaults, 114 unlawful entries and 114 drug-related crimes.
Acting Detective Inspector Jason Smith said Cairns police had identified Earlville as a problem area.
“The Earlville area has been an area of concern and some of that includes the shopping centre and medium-density unit blocks,” he said.
Det Insp Smith said police had “flooded” the area with resources and arrest rates reflected police targeting a juvenile crime spike there.
Edmonton, Bentley Park, Mount Sheridan and White Rock accounted for one of the highest juvenile populations in the state, Det Insp Smith said.
“The areas with the most juveniles will always have the most crime,” he said.
A greater incidence of lowincome families was also a contributing factor.
Stratford, Freshwater, Kamerunga and Caravonica were the safest Cairns suburbs but both Redlynch and Edge Hill recorded a high number of unlawful entries.
Woree stood out for the highest number of drug-related offences (144), ahead of Earlville, Edmonton (123), Mooroobool (78) and Kuranda (51) as the city’s hotspots for illicit drugs.