WA Police figures show total offences up in 2023 across most of South West region

Stealing, burglary and drug offences are leading a spike in crime across the South West as the State Government defends its record on policing numbers. Analysis of WA crime statistics for 75 locations across the region by the South Western Times reveals most areas saw a double-digit rise in total offences in 2023, led by crimes involving property or illicit substances. Bunbury city centre was the biggest crime hotspot in the region, with a total of 1949 offences recorded last year. It is a 7.8 per cent increase from the 1530 offences in 2022. Stealing accounted for 39 per cent of offending, which included breaches of violence restraining orders, but excluded traffic offences. There was an 11.4 per cent increase in stealing offences in the city centre compared to 2022. A 163 per cent increase was recorded in non-dwelling burglaries, with drug offences (up 47.4 per cent) and non-family assaults (up 44.4 per cent) also on the rise. The centre of Busselton was the second-biggest hotspot in the region, seeing total offences increase from 656 in 2022 to 968 in 2023, a 47.6 per cent rise. Stealing (up 52.4 per cent) and drug offences (up 118 per cent) accounted for more than two thirds of the jump, with significant increases also recorded in non-dwelling burglaries (up 94.1 per cent) and threatening behaviour towards non-family members (up 57.1 per cent). Australind (959, up 31.2 per cent) was close behind Busselton in third place, with Carey Park (858, up 41.4 per cent) and Collie (846, up 0.5 per cent) rounding out the top five locations with the highest number of offences. Picton recorded the highest increase in crime in the Bunbury area, where total offences rose by 217 per cent in one year. Drug offences in the industrial area increased from one in 2022 to 15 in 2023, while property crimes increased from 23 to 74 over the same time period. Shadow police minister Peter Collier expressed his concerns at the result, saying the latest figures indicated a crime surge across the State. “Now that the cover of COVID has evaporated, significant social issues have emerged across the State, and the Labor Government has been exposed for its lack of preparedness to deal with these issues,” he said. “Almost 1000 police officers have walked away over the past two years indicating an endemic cultural issue that exists within the force. “Unfortunately, the impact of this exodus has been a lack of officers on the streets and this is particularly pertinent in our regions, including the South West.” Mr Collier said the “most effective solution” to combat crime was to increase police numbers, but described the State Government’s push to recruit officers from the United Kingdom as “short-sighted”. Police Minister Paul Papalia rejected Mr Collier’s claims about an exodus, saying there were about 500 more officers on duty than when Labor took power in 2017. “In addition, more than 4285 people have applied to become part of the WA Police Force in the past 16 months, including at least 2663 Western Australians and 1624 experienced international officers,” he said. Mr Papalia said the WA Police Force did an “outstanding” job responding to unlawful activity across the State. “The root causes of criminal offending are numerous, develop over many years and, in most instances, long before offenders come to the attention of police,” he said.