Australia’s burglary hotspots have been revealed, and some of the results may surprise you. New data combining break in rates and local safety scores has named Cairns the country’s riskiest city for burglaries, followed closely by Townsville and Darwin.
The top 10 cities on the list are:
- Cairns
- Townsville
- Darwin
- Geelong
- Gold Coast
- Perth
- Brisbane
- Wollongong
- Melbourne
- Newcastle
Experts say visible valuables, overflowing mailboxes and overgrown gardens can all make homes more attractive to thieves. Meanwhile, proper security systems, deadlocks, cameras and video doorbells remain some of the best deterrents.
Interestingly, Sydney and Canberra ranked among the safest major cities on the list, with Canberra recording the nation’s lowest burglary rate and highest safety score.
So, how do you make sure your home does not become part of next year’s statistics?
According to Defence Service Homes Australia, a lot of what we think works is actually useless against a modern, opportunistic thief. If you bought a plastic dummy camera online or tacked a generic “Beware of the Dog” sign to your front gate, you can probably take them down. Burglars see right through them.
Instead, the experts recommend practical, physical security measures. A vacant-looking property with a full mailbox and unmoved rubbish bins is a neon welcome sign for a thief. To protect your space, you need to rely on the basics: do not leave cash, jewellery, or expensive electronics in plain sight through the windows.
