Queensland's crime statistics draw 'apples and oranges' criticism

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli recently highlighted new Queensland Police Service data, proudly announcing an almost 10% decrease in crime victims. This announcement aligns with the Liberal National Party's (LNP) core election promise of a "tough on crime" agenda and its signature "adult crime, adult time" policy, which propelled them to power in 2024 and has since focused on a perceived youth crime crisis.

However, the premier omitted a crucial detail: the time frame used for displaying the data had been altered. Previously, crime victim figures for 2025 were compared to 2024. The Queensland Police Service website now presents statistics comparing the financial year 2023/24 to 2025/26. While the annual metric previously showed a 7.2% decrease, the new financial year comparison indicates a 9.6% reduction.

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One of the big issues, and this has been the case since the Crisafulli government got in, is that every single time they report on victim numbers for crime, they switch their data source. Whether that's the actual source of the data itself or the time frame in which that data is measured. So it's essentially comparing apples and oranges.

Griffith University criminologist Dr. James Ogilvie criticized the government's approach, stating it amounts to "comparing apples and oranges." He pointed out that the Crisafulli government has consistently switched its data sources or time frames when reporting victim numbers, undermining the integrity of the statistics. "One of the big issues... is that every single time they report on victim numbers for crime, they switch their data source," Ogilvie said.

A QPS spokesperson explained that the 23/24 year was used as a "baseline to assess changes over time," rather than a single year-on-year variation. Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie defended the presentation, asserting it shows the improvement under the LNP compared to the Labor government. "We're seeing how bad it was under the Labor government, and it's getting better under the LNP government, just like we promised. That's not politicising statistics. That's facts," Bleijie stated.

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We're seeing how bad it was under the Labor government, and it's getting better under the LNP government, just like we promised. That's not politicising statistics. That's facts.