Bartle Frere crime rate and Crime Score · Queensland
Bartle Frere is a suburb in the Cairns council area of Queensland (about 179,334 residents in the council). The council has a Crime Score 82 out of 100 (very high), 22nd of 362 councils nationally.
The score blends national percentile ranks for each published offence category with fixed severity weights; here it is driven most by assault (86th percentile), break-ins (93rd percentile), robbery (95th percentile). Five years earlier the same basis gave 76.
In 2025-26: violent 2,655 per 100,000 (+87% vs five years earlier); property 8,411 per 100,000 (+52% vs five years earlier); break-ins 1,971 per 100,000 (+67% vs five years earlier); theft 3,988 per 100,000 (+73% vs five years earlier). For violent crime that is 31st of 78 Queensland councils with data, highest first.
Unemployment in the Cairns council area is 5.7% (Queensland 5.4%), Census, 10 August 2021. Social housing makes up 4% of occupied homes (1,985 public and 434 community-housing dwellings at the 2021 Census; Queensland 3.3%). An estimated 1,201 people were homeless on Census night 2021, 70 per 10,000 residents (Queensland 43.5), apportioned from ABS Statistical Area Level 2 counts. 24.4% of residents were born overseas (Queensland 24.1%), most often in England, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea. Modelled estimates for 2026-27, not measurements: unemployment about 5.4% (confidence 85 of 100); social housing about 3.6% of homes; about 68.8 homeless people per 10,000 residents; about 24.8% born overseas. Confidence falls with distance from the last published figure, and the map's Estimates toggle shows every year back to 1994-95.
Queensland publishes crime statistics by council area, not by suburb, so the figures shown for Bartle Frere are those of the Cairns council area.
| Offences | Per 100,000 | Count | 5-yr change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent | 2,655 | 4,761 | +87% |
| Property | 8,411 | 15,083 | +52% |
| Break-ins | 1,971 | 3,535 | +67% |
| Theft | 3,988 | 7,152 | +73% |
Cairns council area: full statistics · Interactive map of every council.
Crime in postcode 4861: every suburb and council it covers.
Questions
Is Bartle Frere safe?
Queensland publishes crime figures by council area, not by suburb. Bartle Frere is in the Cairns council area, which recorded 2,650 violent offences per 100,000 residents in 2025-26, about 93% higher than the Queensland rate (1,380) and 2.1 times the national rate (1,280). These are offences recorded by police per resident: they describe the area as a whole, not the risk on any particular street, and places with a busy centre record more because offences are counted where they happen.
Police news near Bartle Frere
- Serious assault, Cairns · Cairns, 13 Oct 2026 · 47 km away
- Fatal crash, Kamerunga · Kamerunga, 13 Sept 2026 · 51 km away
- Fatal traffic crash, Cairns North · Cairns North, 6 Sept 2026 · 51 km away
Nearby suburbs
Aeroglen · Babinda · Barron · Bayview Heights · Bentley Park · Brinsmead · Cairns North · Caravonica · Earlville · East Russell · Edmonton · Goldsborough · Gordonvale · Green Hill · Holloways Beach · Kamerunga · Little Mulgrave · Machans Beach · Manunda · Mooroobool · Mount Peter · Mount Sheridan · Packers Camp · Parramatta Park · Smithfield · Westcourt · White Rock · Whitfield · Woree · Wrights Creek
australiancrimerate.com.au/suburb/qld/bartle-frere/ · Australian Crime Map