Local residents have unfortunately had to remain highly vigilant over the Christmas break as the chance of a thief breaking into a home looking to steal belongings and motor vehicles has been alarmingly high.
Data that dates back to 2001 shows that in 2022 the Drayton Police Division, which includes Westbrook, Wyreema, Vale View, Hodgson Vale, Top Camp and Mount Rascal as well as the Toowoomba suburbs of Drayton, Darling Heights and Harristown, had the most amount of unlawful entry offences on record.
There were 234 unlawful offences recorded in 2022, comfortably surpassing the previous record of 161, set in 2021.
The lowest on record was 79, set in 2005, although since then the population of the area and the number of properties has increased substantially.
In 2022, December was the worst month, with 42 offences recorded, followed by November and July of 2022 which each had 31 offences recorded.
The figures in the Cambooya Police Division, although higher than recent years, were not record-breaking. The Division includes Cambooya, Greenmount, East Greenmount and Ramsay and parts of surrounding areas.
In 2022, 26 unlawful entry offences were recorded, up from 14 in 2021 and 9 in 2020. The record since data began is 28, set in 2002.
Returning to the Drayton Division, unlawful use of motor vehicle offences were also at an all-time high, with 77 recorded in 2022, beating the previous record of 64 set in 2021.
Similarly, in the Cambooya Division, the number of unlawful use of motor vehicles set a record, 13, far surpassing the previous record of 9 set in 2010 and 2021’s tally of 6.
More than $13 million worth of property has been stolen from Queensland homes in the past three years.
RACQ research shows three quarters of Queenslanders are concerned about being broken into while away on holidays, with two-thirds taking extra home security measures.
RACQ Group Executive Insurance, Trent Sayers said in addition to making sure all entry points to your home are secure, extra precautions can include having a house sitter or someone check on your property regularly, having your mail collected, leaving lights on timers, and having security cameras.
“It’s also worth rethinking what you share on social media,” Mr Sayers said.
“Our research found almost half of Queenslanders post pictures of their holiday adventures online while they’re away.
“However, be mindful opportunistic thieves may use this information against you.”
The Darling Downs region had the second-least amount of home break-in claims in Queensland over the past three years for those with RACQ home insurance policies.
This article appeared in On Our Selection News, 12 January 2023.
