Criminology Research Council grant ; (13/80)
This research looked at the impact of tourism on crime on the North Coast of New South Wales between 1971 and 1979, using computer records of serious crime and crime information reports, occurrence pad entries, traffic accident reports, and charge books kept at three tourist resorts (Tweed Heads, Ballina, Port Macquarie) and three 'control' towns not noted for their tourist activity (Kyogle, Casino, Wauchope). There were a number of significant results.
Serious crime increased by about 91 per cent between 1971 and 1979. The highest increases were for drug offences (1405%) and offences against the person (404%) and the lowest for sexual offences (1 %). After allowing for population increase, the real growth rate for all other serious crime was between 2 per cent and 6 per cent per annum.
Relative to the rest of non-metropolitan New South Wales, the North Coast had a low per capita incidence of offences against the person, property breaking, and false pretences but a high incidence of drug offences. However the crime rate on the North Coast is increasing more rapidly than the rate in the rest of non-metropolitan New South Wales.
In tourist resorts the peak of crime information reports tended to coincide with holiday periods (especially in summer) and often involved an increase in workload of between 100 per cent and 200 per cent. In non-tourist areas the peak incidence for crime information reports was spread more throughout the year but was no less intense in its magnitude. Traffic accident reports showed a summer bias in tourist and non-tourist areas alike.
A sample of 1728 crime information reports from Tweed Heads, Ballina, Kyogle, Casino, and Port Macquarie (which included Wauchope records) showed that almost half (49.5%) of all the offences committed were in the category described in the draft national classification of offences as 'other theft'. A further 16.3 per cent of offences concerned breaking and entering, 9.9 per cent drug offences, and 6.8 per cent property damage. All other offences accounted for less than 5 per cent of total crime.
Victims were characteristically middle class, adult males. Offenders were overwhelmingly male (88%), mainly local residents (60%) and generally under 25 (67%). The highest incidence of crime was in January and the lowest incidence in July, with a steady progression between these two extremes. About 40 per cent of crimes were committed at night.
When data for the tourist centres and the 'control' towns were pooled to form two groups, statistical tests showed that, relative to the 'control' towns, tourist centres had significantly fewer sexual offences and drug offences and significantly more 'other thefts' and breaking and entering offences. Tourist areas also had significantly more offences committed in daytime, more local residents among the victims, and victims of generally higher socio-economic status than was the case in non-tourist areas. Likewise, relative to the 'control' towns, tourist areas had significantly more crimes committed by locals and fewer committed by individuals under 18 years of age.
In tourist areas it also took significantly longer to apprehend an offender.
Crime distribution maps pointed to the prominence of business districts, beaches and a few housing estates as areas where the incidence of crime is particularly high. However, such was the variability in the data and the resultant patterns that it was impossible to talk in terms of criminogenic environments. In consequence, there are no obvious environmental design measures that can be suggested in order to mitigate the crime rate. What seems to be needed is a greater emphasis on security generally, particularly in view of the fact that 28 per cent of offences in the 'other theft' category involved losses from parked cars. Such a security drive may however conflict with the promotion of tourism insofar as knowledge of the prevalence of crime may inhibit potential tourists from visiting an area.