When Christmas Goes Criminal - Queensland's Festive Season Felonies

Declassified

Dec 4

Christmas in Queensland. Sun. Surf. Crime sprees.

While the rest of Australia breaks out the prawns and pavlova, Queensland's criminal element gets creative. Turns out the festive season isn't just prime time for family gatherings. It's hunting season for opportunists.

The Numbers Don't Lie

December 23rd through January 2nd. Ten days when Brisbane's wealthier suburbs become shopping catalogues for thieves. Empty houses. Presents under trees visible through windows. Cars loaded with shopping in Westfield car parks.

Queensland Police statistics paint an uncomfortable picture. Property crime jumps 35% during the Christmas period. Residential burglaries spike on three specific dates: December 24th, December 31st, and January 1st.

The pattern's predictable. Families at church services Christmas Eve. Out at parties New Year's Eve. Sleeping off hangovers New Year's Day. Houses dark. Security systems sometimes disabled for visiting relatives who forget codes.

What would Mort do? He'd tell you to stop posting your beach holiday photos in real time. Every Instagram sunset shot from Noosa is a billboard advertising your empty home to anyone paying attention.

The Gold Coast Christmas Crime Boom

Surfers Paradise lives up to its name in December. Paradise for tourists. Paradise for pickpockets, bag snatchers, and car break-in specialists working the party strip.

Queensland Police data shows a 40% spike in theft-related offences between December 20th and January 5th along the Gold Coast corridor. The formula's simple. Intoxicated tourists with loose wallets plus crowded entertainment precincts equals opportunity.

Cavill Avenue. Orchid Avenue. The Esplanade. Every meter patrolled by opportunistic criminals working the crowds. They're not violent. Don't need to be. Just quick hands and awareness of who's watching.

Which is usually nobody. Security cameras capture footage. Police review it later. Maybe identify suspects. Maybe charge them. Months after victims have flown home to Melbourne or Sydney.

The delay works in criminals' favor. Witnesses gone. Memories faded. Court cases difficult to prosecute.

Car Theft Season

Vehicle theft jumps 30% in the fortnight before Christmas. Not random. Strategic.

Stolen cars serve three purposes. Joyriding by bored teenagers on school holidays. Transport for other crimes where traceable vehicles create risk. Parts for chop shops supplying grey market mechanics.

Brisbane's outer suburbs see the highest hit rates. Eight to Wynnum corridor. Northern suburbs from Sandgate to Caboolture. Western suburbs around Inala and Forest Lake.

Why those areas? Mix of factors. Lower socioeconomic demographics. Higher youth unemployment. Gang presence that provides market for stolen vehicles.

Plus parking patterns that help thieves. Street parking rather than garages. Older homes without security cameras. Neighborhoods where car alarms don't trigger immediate response because they go off frequently.

The Shopping Center Strategy

Westfield Chermside. Westfield Garden City. Pacific Fair. Robina Town Centre.

Queensland's major shopping centers become crime hubs every December. Not inside. Outside in the car parks.

Thieves watch. Shoppers load cars with presents. Electronics boxes visible through windows. Handbags left on passenger seats while returning trolleys.

Cars broken into within minutes. Thieves work fast. Smash window. Grab valuables. Gone before security arrives.

Some get sophisticated. Follow high-value shoppers from Apple Store or jewelry retailers. Note which car they drive. Which section they park in. Wait until shopping trip complete and car loaded. Then strike.

Shopping center security can't patrol everywhere simultaneously. CCTV captures faces but identifying suspects takes time. By then Christmas shoppers have moved on.

The Bikie Gang Christmas Truce (That Isn't)

Media loves stories about rival bikie gangs calling Christmas truces. Good PR. Mostly fiction.

What actually happens? Gang activity shifts. Less overt violence in public. More strategic positioning for January's drug supply chains when schoolies and New Year's parties create demand spikes.

December's planning season. Bikies negotiate territory boundaries. Sort out supply arrangements for summer festival season. Deal with internal club politics while avoiding police attention during increased patrols.

The violence doesn't stop. Just moves behind closed doors. Clubhouses. Industrial estates. Private residences where neighbors don't call police.

Queensland's bikie gangs understand public relations better than people assume. Open warfare during Christmas creates political pressure. Politicians respond with crackdowns. Laws get tightened. Operations disrupted.

Better to keep violence quiet. Handle business internally. Maintain appearance of peaceful holidays.

Home Invasion Patterns

Residential burglaries follow predictable patterns that homeowners ignore.

First week of December. Thieves scout neighborhoods. Note which homes have Christmas lights. Which have cars in driveways. Which show signs of families preparing to travel.

Second and third weeks. Watching continues. Social media monitored for travel announcements. "Can't wait for our Bali trip!" posts helpfully provide exact dates homes will be empty.

Christmas week. Strike time. Thieves hit empty homes systematically. Take presents from under trees. Electronics. Jewelry. Cash. Anything quickly converted to money.

Average burglary takes eight minutes. Professional thieves know exactly where people hide valuables. Master bedroom drawers. Kitchen freezers. Study desk drawers. Garage tool boxes.

Home safes slow them down. Don't stop them. Portable safes get carried out entirely. Bolted safes get angle-grinded open later.

The Domestic Violence Spike

Christmas brings family together. Sometimes that's the problem.

Queensland's domestic violence statistics spike every December. Alcohol consumption increases. Financial stress from holiday spending. Extended family dynamics creating tension. Kids home from school reducing alone time.

Police respond to more domestic disturbances during Christmas week than any other time of year. Calls peak Christmas night and New Year's Eve.

The Mortice books tackle domestic violence honestly. Book 2 features subplot involving DV victim Mort and Pig help escape abusive partner. Not gratuitous. Not sensationalized. Just honest depiction of violence that happens behind Queensland's closed doors every day.

Christmas makes it worse. Perpetrators use holidays as excuse. Victims feel trapped by family expectations and financial dependence.

What Mort Would See

In the Mortice series, Mort approaches everything tactically. Christmas crime follows patterns. Patterns mean predictability. Predictability creates opportunity.

If Mort was targeting Christmas criminals, he'd identify the patterns. Map the high-crime areas. Determine optimal surveillance positions. Anticipate behavior based on previous years' data.

That's not fiction. That's how Queensland Police actually operate. Deploy resources to predicted hotspots. Increase patrols in shopping center car parks. Monitor known criminals for increased activity.

Difference is Mort doesn't have budget constraints. Or jurisdictional boundaries. Or rules of evidence to maintain.

He goes where the criminals are. Does what needs doing. Moves on.

The Queensland Advantage for Criminals

Queensland's geography helps criminals during Christmas. Dispersed population. Large rural areas. Long stretches of highway between towns.

Steal car in Brisbane. Dump it in Toowoomba three hours later. Commit crime on Gold Coast. Drive to northern NSW before police coordinate jurisdictions.

Summer weather creates additional opportunities. Homes left open for ventilation. Windows and doors unlocked. Swimming pools attracting trespassers who scout for burglary opportunities.

Plus tourist influx. Millions of visitors flooding Queensland for summer holidays. Crowds providing cover. Strangers everywhere so suspicious behavior doesn't stand out.

Protecting Yourself Mort Style

Mort's military training emphasizes preparation and awareness. Applied to Christmas security:

Don't advertise absence. Stop mail and newspapers. Have neighbors collect packages. Use light timers creating occupied appearance.

Secure valuables properly. Bank safety deposit boxes for jewelry. Remove new electronic items from packaging before putting boxes in street bins. Don't leave car shopping visible in vehicles.

Monitor social media. Change privacy settings. Don't post travel plans publicly. Wait until returning home before sharing holiday photos.

Maintain appearances. Car in driveway. Lights on timers. Lawn maintained. Signs of occupancy deterring opportunistic thieves.

Know your neighbors. Actual relationships creating natural surveillance. People who'll notice strangers. Who'll call police for suspicious activity.

Install proper security. Cameras with cloud storage criminals can't disable by cutting power. Alarm systems monitored professionally. Deadbolts on all external doors.

Not paranoia. Basic operational security translated from military context to civilian life.

The Uncomfortable Reality

Christmas crime in Queensland isn't increasing dramatically. It's consistent. Predictable. Annual pattern that repeats with minor variations.

What changes is awareness. Media coverage spikes during Christmas. Police release statistics. Politicians make announcements about increased patrols.

Then January arrives. Coverage drops. Everyone forgets until next December.

Meanwhile victims dealing with insurance claims. Replacing stolen items. Installing security they should have had already. Living with violation feeling that home invasion creates.

The Mortice Series Gets It Right

A.J. Wilton doesn't write fantasy crime. He writes Queensland crime with fictional protagonists.

The patterns are real. The locations are real. The criminal methodologies are real.

Only difference is Mort exists to do what most Queenslanders wish someone would. Take direct action against criminals who exploit predictable patterns.

That's why the books resonate. Not because they're escapist fantasy. Because they're uncomfortable reality with character willing to respond how readers wish they could.

This Christmas

Queensland will see the same crime patterns. Same burglary spike. Same car thefts. Same domestic violence calls.

Police will respond. Some criminals will get caught. Most won't.

Victims will file reports. Insurance claims. Victim impact statements nobody reads.

And next December it'll happen again.

Unless you prepare. Unless you think tactically. Unless you make yourself harder target than your neighbor.

That's not cynicism. That's reality.

Welcome to Christmas in Queensland. Paradise with a crime rate.