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Queensland police have been measuring community views on youth crime through public sources such as social media, with a recent internal report giving an “extremely negative” score of just two out of 10.
The one-page February document, obtained by this masthead, notes low confidence in bail and sentencing, “slogan heavy” fixes, fear-based narratives, polarisation on solutions, and “widespread distrust” of data.
It comes as the Crisafulli LNP push ahead with its latest promised “circuit-breaker sentencing” program, and police and government spruik a new selective comparison of statistics.
While partially tabled in parliament by the Labor Opposition last month, this masthead has since obtained the full Community Sentiment regarding the issue of Youth Crime – February 2026 document.
In a statement, a police spokesperson confirmed the agency monitored community sentiment through public information such as social media to “stay informed about key issues affecting Queenslanders”.
“An internal report on youth crime sentiment was prepared to provide anecdotal insights,” the spokesperson said.
“The information contained within it reflects community commentary and sentiment and should not be considered verified QPS data, intelligence, or an official measure of crime trends or community opinion.”
In a section titled “summary of analysis”, an overall youth crime sentiment score of 2.1 out of 10 is given, described as “extremely negative”. A further breakdown shows 90 per cent leaned negative.
Key findings based on a “review of comments in response to youth crime coverage in the media” note the judiciary is blamed more than police, and people believe victim numbers are artificially reduced.
Primary drivers of the comments are described as new law announcements, localised crime coverage, high profile political posts, and media coverage around enforcement or rehabilitation.
Notable patterns in the comments include calls for mandatory sentencing and the removal of judicial discretion, and advocacy for the “castle law” pushed by Katter’s Australian Party.
Support for structured rehabilitation programs, and recognition that poverty and trauma drive offending were also noted.
In the breakdown by police districts, sentiment in Townsville is described as the reference point for the “collapse” statewide, with the far north combining crime fear with political resentment, “making it more volatile”.
In the south-east, negative sentiment in Logan is described as “less explosive”, but deeply entrenched, “making reassurance messaging difficult”. The Gold Coast, while not out of control, is “primed for escalation” with a major incident.
Police refused to answer questions about whether the community sentiment work was ongoing, if such reports were being prepared regularly, and exactly what public information was used to inform it.
Police also declined to say if the sentiment score or other elements had changed across any report updates, or if it had been presented to the government or Police Minister Dan Purdie – who refused to answer questions.
Experts have warned that social media, including community Facebook pages, can create a false impression of crime. They have also repeatedly warned against the use of hardline, populist measures, which can entrench cycles of crime.
The Crisafulli LNP came to government in October 2024 with claims of a youth crime crisis created under Labor, and referenced this crisis to justify its tightening of laws and a troubled early intervention rollout.
Its new program of “circuit-breaker sentencing” has been compared to the former Newman government’s maligned “boot camps” in a raft of submissions to a parliamentary committee process.
In a speech to the LNP State Convention earlier this month, Premier David Crisafulli – who has staked his leadership on reducing crime victim numbers – flagged mandatory sentences for some repeat youth offenders.
Speaking in Cairns with interim Police Commissioner Brett Pointing on Thursday, Crisafulli touted new police data showing victim numbers, robberies, unlawful entry and vehicle thefts had all fallen by 9.6, 19.5, 5 and 17.2 per cent, respectively.
But this twice-yearly update from police was presented only as a comparison between the 2025-26 financial year and the 2023-24 financial year, the last of the former government, despite previously having been a comparison to the past 12 months.
Police on Friday were unable to provide figures for the year-on-year change between 2024-25 and 2025-26. A spokesperson said 2023-24 had been picked as a reference point for a “baseline to assess changes over time” rather than a single year.
Asked on Friday why the comparison had skipped a year, Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie told reporters on the Sunshine Coast: “I think it is a pretty important statistic to show how bad it was under the Labor government, and it is getting better under our government.”
Recent independent state and federal data releases have shown victim numbers continuing to track downward since before the election, despite increasing rates for some crimes. On Thursday, Crisafulli repeated claims victim numbers had jumped 193 per cent in the past decade.
“There’s a reason why I’ve chosen to do this here in Cairns today,” Crisafulli said. “I’ve listened to the community. I’ve reflected on the levels of pain and frustration from the community.
“In the last 10 years, victim numbers have increased by 193 per cent ... Now, any change that sees that not just stabilise, but come down is welcome news. But … it shows you how far we have to go.”
Appearing before the parliamentary committee considering circuit breaker sentencing on Friday, Youth Advocacy Centre chief executive Katherine Hayes urged the government to stop using the “misleading” figure.
“The 193 per cent increase in the victims of crime refers, first of all, to the total number, not just of youth crime,” Hayes said.
“So that increase in the victim numbers is almost all due to domestic and family violence, which contributes to youth crime … the use of 193 per cent hides the significance of DV in society.”
In Gladstone on Thursday, Opposition Leader Steven Miles accused the government of “cherry-picking” data to convince Queenslanders things were getting better, reiterating his pledge for an independent crime data agency.
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