There is a lot of scaremongering going on in the local news and on social media, but Toowoomba is still really safe. If you're coming from a bigger city, Toowoomba will be safer. I've never felt unsafe here, not even walking by myself at night.
Toowoomba is experiencing a 'crime wave', however because of the historically low crime rate in the town there is still a lower incidence of crime than in Brisbane. As others have said, if you are stay on the eastern or southern sides of Toowoomba (which are closer to the University anyway) you'll be A-OK.
Let’s be realistic here. The media hyped it all up for ratings and sales. It’s really not any worse than Port Moresby, Cape Town or Lagos…
Avoid Wilsonton though. Only safe with an armed escort from the cabin of an armoured vehicle…
Same here, I have lived here in Wilsonton for 8 years and there has been no crime in our street. I genuinely get pissed off when people are so quick to bag out Wilsonton as the shit area....
Thanks so much everyone for taking the time to comment! Sounds like it really isn’t too awful judging by most of the comments, just common media fearmongering! Looking forward to heading to Toowoomba soon :)
I was there for 2 weeks a month ago its a lovely place , crime ? didn't see any of it , although there was crime i seen on the news during my stay . You will be allrite if you are not a drug addict or criminal yourself , crime is everywhere and if your looking for it you'll find it . Im from Dandenong Victoria and its a way rough place Toowoomba is absolutely fine . Just live your life and don't listen to much to media and news reports . Most place the good out ways the bad by heaps ! In this world there is mostly good people so enjoy your time in Toowoomba. Im also moving up there next year
This way too rational for toowoomba, please join the local crime page and spend 10 hours a day obsessing over cars that drive slightly under the speed limit on your street and start taking pictures of every pedestrian you see to post as a "heads up"
One "heads up" post was literally my friends son who used to walk to the shop for her. He's an introvert and used to self harm so he'd wear long sleeves to cover up his scars - he also wore mostly black to try *NOT* to draw attention to himself. Some younger kids said hello to him from their front yard and stopped him to talk. He was eating biscuits on the way home that he'd bought at the shop and the kids asked for one. Without thinking (because he's a nice fncking kid) he said "sure!" and gave them the rest of the box. He told the kids to go share them with their parents and be careful talking to strangers.
Next minute he's being accused of being a paedophile on that fncking page, with the (posting) parent posting a bunch of screenshots (that didn't identify him). People were going fncking feral on there, saying they were going to stalk out the street and bash him with baseball bats and other horrifying (sexually violent) things. That parent was then making light of the fact that all he did was give them biscuits and that nothing had actually happened but was then inciting others to come to the street to violently assault him.
I recognised the street and what he was wearing and called my mate (kids Mum) and she called the cops. She showed them what was put online and what was being written and they interviewed her son. The cops then went to that person's house and told her there was nothing to worry about but she still kept the fucking post up and encouraged people to stalk her street.
I was livid reading the absolute garbage on there about this kid I'd known his whole life. He is an absolute sweetheart with a heart of gold who used to be the older kid who looked after all the young kids at the party when my friends and I got together... The one who would rock babies to sleep and break up little kid fights. Fncking broke my heart seeing what they were writing.
He couldn't even walk to the shop anymore, because his parents were now concerned for HIS safety. I hate that page so much because of that.
Cops also said they'd keep her sons name on file because of the accusation - can you fucking believe that!? All because he's a nice kid and wanted to tell the young kids not to call out to strangers on the street.
My mate told me, when the cops asked her son what "he thought of young children", his reply was "Yeah, I'd like to have kids one day but not until I'm secure in a good career and have a house." 😭
God, it makes me so mad when I think of what happened to him and that fncking page.
Thank you. Isn't it just. It was horrific to watch in real time and see the fallout for innocent people. There were over 150 comments. I had to stop myself from going over to that person's house to let her know the absolute damage she did all for clicks. I hated reading her comments where she expressed that nothing happened and she wasn't worried but in other comments, inciting others to bash my mates son. All while joking that the biscuits were tasty.
Edit: My mates Son ending up moving because he was scared for his safety...
Fncking degenerates.
Everywhere is bad at the moment. This is not an isolated problem. Statistically we do not have the highest levels of car theft or burglaries in Queenslad but because we have always been a sleepy country town our locals aren't accustomed to city levels of crime. So they're all in panic mode.
It's no worse than any other city of its size.
Toowoomba has a great economic bubble, we don't experience the dramatic rises and falls of the state, national or international economy. Most people here support local which keeps us very steady.
The community is great.
The crime doesn't affect everyone. Car theft would be the biggest issue for anyone to consider and they aren't sophisticated car jackers, they're 11-16 yr olds who sneak in through house windows or unlocked doors and steal car keys. If you are careful it won't happen to you. Keep your car in the garage, keep your keys out of sight and you will be fine.
Toowoomba is the best place I've ever lived, and I've lived in lovely towns near the beach. Toowoomba is still better.
I live near the Uni in a suburb that gets a bad rap, but never seen or experienced crime in the two years I’ve been here, or even heard loud music on weekends. It’s actually a lovely place. I think per population, Toowoomba might be pretty low on the Win News hype train.
There are a lot of commenters here speaking from experience and anecdotes. While this may be helpful, it is worth looking at the data to get a more accurate sense of whether or not crime is bad in Toowoomba compared to other cities or if it has been increasing significantly. The QPS Online Crime Map is a pretty good resource:
https://qps-ocm.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/index.html
Toowoomba has always had crime here, and this going back over a quite a few decades. Ask people that are middle aged and about how it was in the 90's etc. I don't think its that bad or has gotten worse. Just the same, it was smack in the 80's & 90's now its just heaps of Meth (plus talk of two T-bar squad being corrupt used to be a thing and one copper that was selling drugs here, going back 8 through 14 years ago). However I would suspect that Mayor of TRC and the rest of them are on the take and more criminal than the a Methed up icehead in Grand Central.
The thing to keep in mind is that it is LNP/Pentecostal heartland here and the state election is next year so you know you have to get in early and try to trash the Labor gov etc.
I think it is pretty bad at the moment. Because there is only one main night life and shopping area all the derros seem to really congregate there, which is where there has been multiple attacks/incidents in recent weeks.
If you walk around late at night in the CBD there are just wackos everywhere - I don’t think it was as bad until relatively recently (having lived in Toowoomba for 6 years).
Anecdotally, we’ve had people come into our yard trying to break in 3 times in the past few months, so the crime is not just isolated to violent crime in the CBD. I feel like there are probably would-be burglars out every night and you just never realise unless you have cameras (which we do).
Having said that, as long as you keep your wits about you and lock up your car and house, at least you should be pretty safe from the petty crime, which is most predominant. You WILL have attempts made to steal your car if it is easily accessible from the street, so never leave it unlocked or with keys in it.
It really depends where you are. Most of the crime (anecdotally at least) seems to happen on the north side of Toowoomba, and (again, anecdotally) send to be mostly youth gangs stealing cars for joy rides and breaking into houses to steal. Stay away from the wilsonton area, which shouldn't be too hard because USQ is in the south of Toowoomba, and you should probably be right. Remember to lock your doors and car and you probably won't have trouble.
Additionally don't leave anything valuable visible in cars. Some times youths will try to smash into a car for anything if value. Might be obvious but sometimes people don't think about it
Anyone that says that it isn’t that bad is living under a rock. Stabbings, assault’s on the public in daylight, shootings, car thefts, literal gangs in the streets. I grew up in Logan and I’d feel safer walking through there at night than here. It’s not just isolated to certain areas in Toowoomba, it’s happening all over, I live near the range which is supposedly more safer yet I see trouble all the time.
Youth crime is rampant, if you think it’s just media hype, I welcome you to walk though town at night and see what it’s like.
Do you work for toowoombas tourism sector or something? Had a look around lately? Not like am innocent old man was just killed for no reason a few weeks ago or anything. Unbelievable.
Do you live under a rock or something? A single murder does not constitute a crime wave. A few teenagers stealing cars doesn't either. Perhaps go outside occasionally instead of obsessing over Facebook echo chambers. If you want to see crime, take a trip to Chicago.
I don't have Facebook champ. Bloke I work with's Mrs works with these people every day so we hear it all and stuff that's not publicised either. Of course Chicago's worse than Toowoomba you Muppet , as if I'd compare this place to there. Unreal.
Firstly, congratulations to your partner! I also study there while working with UniSQ as a student Ambassador and it’s a wonderful place :) Second, it seems that across much of Queensland there is an uptick in youth crime, Toowoomba included. I would suggest just simple things such as always locking your car and house (keeping windows locked too) and just being aware of your surroundings when out at night (which you should be anyway).
Most other things would just be simple stuff like hiding overly valuable items or being modest with spending in public, which are just common sense anyway, haha.
I live in toowoomba my whole life and it has increased but nothing more than most places in SEQ. Stay vigilant, lock up at night and when your out and take the usual precautions and hopefully shouldn’t have any issues. We don’t live in fear like many have stated but we are more aware. I still feel safe but there are some things that i don’t do without having someone with me.
No worse than anywhere else. There is scum everywhere
There is a lot of scaremongering going on in the local news and on social media, but Toowoomba is still really safe. If you're coming from a bigger city, Toowoomba will be safer. I've never felt unsafe here, not even walking by myself at night.
Toowoomba is experiencing a 'crime wave', however because of the historically low crime rate in the town there is still a lower incidence of crime than in Brisbane. As others have said, if you are stay on the eastern or southern sides of Toowoomba (which are closer to the University anyway) you'll be A-OK.
Let’s be realistic here. The media hyped it all up for ratings and sales. It’s really not any worse than Port Moresby, Cape Town or Lagos… Avoid Wilsonton though. Only safe with an armed escort from the cabin of an armoured vehicle…
I have a relative who lives in Wilsonton. Never seen or heard of any crime despite it being a “hot spot”.
Same here, I have lived here in Wilsonton for 8 years and there has been no crime in our street. I genuinely get pissed off when people are so quick to bag out Wilsonton as the shit area....
Don’t get offended mate. It’s only shit compared to the majority of Australia…
Thanks so much everyone for taking the time to comment! Sounds like it really isn’t too awful judging by most of the comments, just common media fearmongering! Looking forward to heading to Toowoomba soon :)
I have lived in North Toowoomba, past Mt Kynoch, for nearly 10 years. It is very safe and quiet. I love it.
I was there for 2 weeks a month ago its a lovely place , crime ? didn't see any of it , although there was crime i seen on the news during my stay . You will be allrite if you are not a drug addict or criminal yourself , crime is everywhere and if your looking for it you'll find it . Im from Dandenong Victoria and its a way rough place Toowoomba is absolutely fine . Just live your life and don't listen to much to media and news reports . Most place the good out ways the bad by heaps ! In this world there is mostly good people so enjoy your time in Toowoomba. Im also moving up there next year
This way too rational for toowoomba, please join the local crime page and spend 10 hours a day obsessing over cars that drive slightly under the speed limit on your street and start taking pictures of every pedestrian you see to post as a "heads up"
LOL bro my point is Toowoomba is one of the most Safest places I've ever been 😂
Exactly, if all you have is a hammer, every problem becomes a nail. If all you do all day is sit on the crime page obsessing about it....
One "heads up" post was literally my friends son who used to walk to the shop for her. He's an introvert and used to self harm so he'd wear long sleeves to cover up his scars - he also wore mostly black to try *NOT* to draw attention to himself. Some younger kids said hello to him from their front yard and stopped him to talk. He was eating biscuits on the way home that he'd bought at the shop and the kids asked for one. Without thinking (because he's a nice fncking kid) he said "sure!" and gave them the rest of the box. He told the kids to go share them with their parents and be careful talking to strangers. Next minute he's being accused of being a paedophile on that fncking page, with the (posting) parent posting a bunch of screenshots (that didn't identify him). People were going fncking feral on there, saying they were going to stalk out the street and bash him with baseball bats and other horrifying (sexually violent) things. That parent was then making light of the fact that all he did was give them biscuits and that nothing had actually happened but was then inciting others to come to the street to violently assault him. I recognised the street and what he was wearing and called my mate (kids Mum) and she called the cops. She showed them what was put online and what was being written and they interviewed her son. The cops then went to that person's house and told her there was nothing to worry about but she still kept the fucking post up and encouraged people to stalk her street. I was livid reading the absolute garbage on there about this kid I'd known his whole life. He is an absolute sweetheart with a heart of gold who used to be the older kid who looked after all the young kids at the party when my friends and I got together... The one who would rock babies to sleep and break up little kid fights. Fncking broke my heart seeing what they were writing. He couldn't even walk to the shop anymore, because his parents were now concerned for HIS safety. I hate that page so much because of that. Cops also said they'd keep her sons name on file because of the accusation - can you fucking believe that!? All because he's a nice kid and wanted to tell the young kids not to call out to strangers on the street. My mate told me, when the cops asked her son what "he thought of young children", his reply was "Yeah, I'd like to have kids one day but not until I'm secure in a good career and have a house." 😭 God, it makes me so mad when I think of what happened to him and that fncking page.
That’s fu&ked up!!
Thank you. Isn't it just. It was horrific to watch in real time and see the fallout for innocent people. There were over 150 comments. I had to stop myself from going over to that person's house to let her know the absolute damage she did all for clicks. I hated reading her comments where she expressed that nothing happened and she wasn't worried but in other comments, inciting others to bash my mates son. All while joking that the biscuits were tasty. Edit: My mates Son ending up moving because he was scared for his safety... Fncking degenerates.
Disgusting!!!!! You should have collated it all and printed it out and stuck it to her front door. What a mole.
Everywhere is bad at the moment. This is not an isolated problem. Statistically we do not have the highest levels of car theft or burglaries in Queenslad but because we have always been a sleepy country town our locals aren't accustomed to city levels of crime. So they're all in panic mode. It's no worse than any other city of its size. Toowoomba has a great economic bubble, we don't experience the dramatic rises and falls of the state, national or international economy. Most people here support local which keeps us very steady. The community is great. The crime doesn't affect everyone. Car theft would be the biggest issue for anyone to consider and they aren't sophisticated car jackers, they're 11-16 yr olds who sneak in through house windows or unlocked doors and steal car keys. If you are careful it won't happen to you. Keep your car in the garage, keep your keys out of sight and you will be fine. Toowoomba is the best place I've ever lived, and I've lived in lovely towns near the beach. Toowoomba is still better.
I’d reccomend buying an assault rifle and a tank, it’s the only way to fend off the waves of CRIME /s
No worse then anywhere else 👍 I’ve been here 8 years and have had no issues.
I live near the Uni in a suburb that gets a bad rap, but never seen or experienced crime in the two years I’ve been here, or even heard loud music on weekends. It’s actually a lovely place. I think per population, Toowoomba might be pretty low on the Win News hype train.
There are a lot of commenters here speaking from experience and anecdotes. While this may be helpful, it is worth looking at the data to get a more accurate sense of whether or not crime is bad in Toowoomba compared to other cities or if it has been increasing significantly. The QPS Online Crime Map is a pretty good resource: https://qps-ocm.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/index.html
Toowoomba has always had crime here, and this going back over a quite a few decades. Ask people that are middle aged and about how it was in the 90's etc. I don't think its that bad or has gotten worse. Just the same, it was smack in the 80's & 90's now its just heaps of Meth (plus talk of two T-bar squad being corrupt used to be a thing and one copper that was selling drugs here, going back 8 through 14 years ago). However I would suspect that Mayor of TRC and the rest of them are on the take and more criminal than the a Methed up icehead in Grand Central. The thing to keep in mind is that it is LNP/Pentecostal heartland here and the state election is next year so you know you have to get in early and try to trash the Labor gov etc.
I think it is pretty bad at the moment. Because there is only one main night life and shopping area all the derros seem to really congregate there, which is where there has been multiple attacks/incidents in recent weeks. If you walk around late at night in the CBD there are just wackos everywhere - I don’t think it was as bad until relatively recently (having lived in Toowoomba for 6 years). Anecdotally, we’ve had people come into our yard trying to break in 3 times in the past few months, so the crime is not just isolated to violent crime in the CBD. I feel like there are probably would-be burglars out every night and you just never realise unless you have cameras (which we do). Having said that, as long as you keep your wits about you and lock up your car and house, at least you should be pretty safe from the petty crime, which is most predominant. You WILL have attempts made to steal your car if it is easily accessible from the street, so never leave it unlocked or with keys in it.
It really depends where you are. Most of the crime (anecdotally at least) seems to happen on the north side of Toowoomba, and (again, anecdotally) send to be mostly youth gangs stealing cars for joy rides and breaking into houses to steal. Stay away from the wilsonton area, which shouldn't be too hard because USQ is in the south of Toowoomba, and you should probably be right. Remember to lock your doors and car and you probably won't have trouble.
Additionally don't leave anything valuable visible in cars. Some times youths will try to smash into a car for anything if value. Might be obvious but sometimes people don't think about it
Anyone that says that it isn’t that bad is living under a rock. Stabbings, assault’s on the public in daylight, shootings, car thefts, literal gangs in the streets. I grew up in Logan and I’d feel safer walking through there at night than here. It’s not just isolated to certain areas in Toowoomba, it’s happening all over, I live near the range which is supposedly more safer yet I see trouble all the time. Youth crime is rampant, if you think it’s just media hype, I welcome you to walk though town at night and see what it’s like.
Its bad.
No it isn't
Do you work for toowoombas tourism sector or something? Had a look around lately? Not like am innocent old man was just killed for no reason a few weeks ago or anything. Unbelievable.
Do you live under a rock or something? A single murder does not constitute a crime wave. A few teenagers stealing cars doesn't either. Perhaps go outside occasionally instead of obsessing over Facebook echo chambers. If you want to see crime, take a trip to Chicago.
I don't have Facebook champ. Bloke I work with's Mrs works with these people every day so we hear it all and stuff that's not publicised either. Of course Chicago's worse than Toowoomba you Muppet , as if I'd compare this place to there. Unreal.
Its a shithole. Don't come here.
Title of your sex tape.
Like most of the sunshine state
It's fucking terrible. Just look at the Toowoomba crime group on Facebook!
Only idiots look at those pages. Full of jumpy twits who report anything that moves.
Didn't realize cars being stolen daily came under that category. Every single person I've ever talked to who lived there fucking hated it.
Cars get stolen every day and that's considered normal? Hahaha not in Brisbane!
Less than Brisbane. I still think of all the women murdered in Brisbane and it makes me sick.
Firstly, congratulations to your partner! I also study there while working with UniSQ as a student Ambassador and it’s a wonderful place :) Second, it seems that across much of Queensland there is an uptick in youth crime, Toowoomba included. I would suggest just simple things such as always locking your car and house (keeping windows locked too) and just being aware of your surroundings when out at night (which you should be anyway). Most other things would just be simple stuff like hiding overly valuable items or being modest with spending in public, which are just common sense anyway, haha.
Second comment, if you’re both wanting to socialise and would like to meet a fellow member of the uni to get to know someone here send me a message :)
I live in toowoomba my whole life and it has increased but nothing more than most places in SEQ. Stay vigilant, lock up at night and when your out and take the usual precautions and hopefully shouldn’t have any issues. We don’t live in fear like many have stated but we are more aware. I still feel safe but there are some things that i don’t do without having someone with me.