Figures on Queensland Police Service’s website Mypolice state that in Mount Isa there were 33 reported incidents of unlawful entry in January. There were 16 incidents in December.

Reports of “other theft”, which excludes unlawful entry, also increased. There were 78 incidents in January and 60 in December.

But these figures do contradict the more specific online Qld Police Service Crime Map, which Mount Isa Police Station’s officer-in-charge Senior Sergeant Renee Hanrahan refers to when saying there were no significant increases of crime when making annual comparisons. 

The Crime Map says that in January there were 58 “other theft” crimes. In December there were 60.

But it also shows in January there were 29 unlawful entries, while there were 16 in December. 

Senior Sergeant Hanrahan said she would find out why the figures on both websites were different. There were many factors that might explain an increase between January and last December. 

There would be typical influxes if comparing statistics month to month because of these factors.

These factors included school holidays, and wet conditions cutting off access to surrounding communities which affects local short-term population, Senior Sergeant Hanrahan said.

Property owners leaving their homes unattended while on holidays can be another factor.

In January there was also one robbery, according to the crime map. The map shows the unsolved crime happened at Lake Moondarra on Australia Day.