A private security company being paid by residents to patrol the streets of some of Brisbane's wealthiest suburbs says its presence in the area is helping people sleep at night.
For the past nine months guards in high-visibility vests, wielding nothing more than a flashlight, have been on the lookout for criminal activity in pockets of Clayfield, Ascot, and Hamilton in the city's north.
24/7 Group managing director Randall Hughes said six guards were stationed in the suburbs over the weekend to "alleviate the fear that some people are living under at the moment".
"People are sick and tired of home invasions, getting their cars stolen, having people trespass on their properties during the night and they've just had enough," he told ABC Radio Brisbane.
"Queensland Police Service is doing a great job but they can't be everywhere all the time so we're helping people by putting designated guards in areas and keeping an eye on their homes during the evening."
Mr Hughes said a group of residents from one street in Ascot was paying more than $40 per hour to have a guard stand watch from 9pm until sunrise every day.
He said his staff, who were licensed, trained in first aid, and had passed police checks were primarily a deterrent to would-be criminals.
"If we see someone we'll chase them down, we'll stop them and we'll call the police."
It was not the first time Brisbane residents had investigated the crime-prevention strategy.
In September 2021, one month after a violent home invasion against former Wallaby Toutai Kefu and his family, pamphlets were distributed in Coorparoo proposing a similar venture.
"With the recent break-ins and criminal activity in our area, as a local home owner like yourself, I am so concerned for my family and home," it read.
"What I would like to propose, and am happy to organise on behalf of our community, is three nightly patrols by a professional security company for our Martha Street pocket."
Former Coorparoo resident Tracey Goodall said the idea never got off the ground because Queensland Police Service (QPS) increased its presence in the area.
Powers of private security in the suburbs
Mr Hughes said security guards were legally allowed to stop and detain people under the citizen's arrest section of the Criminal Code Act 1899 (Qld), however University of Queensland criminologist Dr Renee Zahnow said the methods used by security companies to deter crime were available to any person on the street.
"They can defend themselves or defend the life of another.
"They certainly can't tell the general public to move on, anyone is still allowed to be on a public street."
Anyone is free to record the description and vehicle details of a suspicious person in their street and report criminal activity to Police.
Deterring crime by watching over your street works, but Dr Zahnow said the idea that we should take responsibility for the safety of our own community was fast disappearing.
"These sorts of things used to be done through informal social control, the eyes on the street and the guardianship would be provided by home owners," she said.
"COVID has certainly done something to accelerate this trend toward locking ourselves away, being online more, and perhaps not interacting as much in our street and in local areas and therefore needing to commodify or pay for private security."
Dr Zahnow said the popularity of social media-based community groups rather than traditional, face-to-face Neighbourhood Watch groups had affected people's ability to visually recognise who did and did not belong on their street.
QPS says night patrol idea has merit
A QPS spokesperson said hiring private security providers collectively, or individually, had merit as a lawful means to increase personal and property security.
"Whilst the employment of security providers to patrol residential estates is a commercial arrangement independent of the QPS, it is evident there is a lower rate of offending around gated estates with onsite security compared to other residential estates," it said it a statement.
"Trained security providers generally understand the limitations of their authority and that includes understanding when to escalate a situation to the Queensland Police Service (QPS) for advice or assistance."
It also encouraged people to get involved in the Neighbourhood Watch (NHW) program.
Strategy highlights inequalities in crime prevention
Dr Zahnow said hiring private security was effective for the people who could afford it but had the potential to push the problem into less wealthy areas – a phenomenon criminologists call displacement.
"When [security guards] are in contact with police all the time then there's less opportunities and less resources for police to get called out to crime in other places," she said.
She said people who could not afford to enter into a private security agreement with their neighbours could use some of these strategies instead:
- Join your closest Neighbourhood Watch group
- Get to know your neighbours and swap contact information
- Make sure you are visually aware of who belongs in your street
- Keep bushes and trees in front of your property trimmed so your home is visible from the street
- Lock your vehicle when it is not in use
- Lock your front door, even when you are home
