By the Numbers: What Sunshine Coast Crime Data Really Shows About Local Safety

The Sunshine Coast recorded 8,247 reported offences in the 2025-26 financial year, according to Queensland Police data released this month. That's a 4.2 per cent increase from the previous year, but the headline number masks critical details about where crimes actually happen and what types of incidents are driving the rise.

Police and community leaders are pushing back on the narrative that the region is becoming uniformly less safe. Instead, they point to specific problem areas, seasonal patterns, and property crime as the primary concern-not the violent incidents that dominate national news cycles.

Property theft remains the biggest driver of offence numbers across the Sunshine Coast. Burglary from residences jumped 12 per cent year-on-year, with Maroochydore and Mooloolaba reporting the highest concentrations. Motor vehicle theft and theft from vehicles each account for roughly 18 per cent of total crime figures. Shoplifting incidents, concentrated along the Sunshine Coast Highway retail corridor and within the new Maroochydore CBD construction zone, added another 1,100 reports.

Serious assault-the offence category that most concerns residents-actually remained flat at 287 recorded incidents. Domestic violence notifications rose to 1,563 calls, reflecting both increased reporting and ongoing community education campaigns run through Sunshine Coast University Hospital's family safety unit.

Where the data points to real trouble

Detective Inspector Greg Wallis from Sunshine Coast Police District told The Daily Sunshine Coast that three postcodes account for 31 per cent of all reported offences. Caloundra (4726), Maroochydore (4558), and Alexandra Headland (4572) top the list, though Wallis stressed that demographic size and foot traffic partly explain the numbers. Caloundra alone has a permanent population exceeding 35,000 residents.

Short-term rental properties feature prominently in police reports. The Queensland government's new STR registration scheme, rolling out across Sunshine Coast councils from August 2026, aims to address this. Unregistered holiday rental addresses accounted for 340 reported offences in the past year-mainly noise complaints, but also 23 theft incidents involving guests and neighbours. Noosa Heads (4567), where STR properties cluster near Hastings Street, reported the highest density of such incidents.

Night-time economy venues present another pattern. Assaults and offensive conduct charges spike Friday and Saturday nights, with 64 per cent of weekend assaults occurring between 10 pm and 3 am. The Sunshine Coast CBD alcohol licensing precinct-covering Hastings Street in Noosa, the Maroochydore beachfront, and Mooloolaba Esplanade-generated 423 assault-related reports over 12 months.

The resource reality

Police staffing hasn't kept pace with the region's boom. The Sunshine Coast's population grew 6.8 per cent between the 2021 and 2026 Census periods, but Queensland Police District allocation increased by just 3.2 per cent over the same timeframe. That means fewer officers per capita responding to more calls.

Response times to non-emergency calls average 47 minutes across the region, up from 38 minutes in 2024. Emergency calls (code 1) still get attended within 12 minutes on average, but the broader trend reflects stretched resources. Caloundra Police Station, the busiest in the district, now processes 280 reports monthly.

What residents should do right now: secure vehicles (61 per cent of car thefts involve items left visible inside), report break-ins immediately to police online or via 131 444, and register any short-term rental property if you own one. The Sunshine Coast Council's new Planning and Development Code changes, effective September 2026, will tighten STR zoning rules.

Police encourage residents to report all offences, including lower-level property crime. Detective Inspector Wallis notes that reported crime data shapes resource allocation. Call 131 444 for non-urgent incidents or use the Queensland Police online reporting portal for theft, loss, and property damage cases.