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Brisbane residents regularly post online about crime in community pages on Facebook.Credit:Facebook

Brisbane residents tended to believe posts on their community Facebook pages,University of Queensland senior lecturer Dr Renee Zahnow found,which often led them to think their area had a higher rate of crime.

Zahnow said the posts created a false impression of criminal or deviant behaviours that were often reports of minor incidents.

She said most people relied on Facebook or other online platforms to gauge how unsafe their suburb was.

“It might be something super minor,like someone’s knocked their bins over or someone’s said a cat ran through their yard,because they’re feeling agitated about it,” she said.

“So,what that can do is create a sense of panic,that ‘everything’s really out of control in my neighbourhood’.

“The issue is that it is virtual exposure or vicarious experiences,which means it’s perceived by others.”

Zahnow said compared with other areas,people in Ascot were not at high risk of crime.

University of Queensland’s Dr Renee Zahnow.Credit:University of Queensland

“But they are concerned about crime in their area because if one person experiences crime,or if their friends are saying ‘I’ve noticed people hanging about’,they think it’s a real big issue.”

People posting footage captured by CCTV also posed privacy and legal problems,she said.

Zahnow said young people,particularly “wearing hoodies”,were often referenced,and ethnic groups were targeted,with phrases such as “there are a lot of Africans hanging around here”.

“Well,are they doing anything wrong,or are they just wearing a hoodie and they’re sitting on the street?

“Because youth don’t actually have anywhere to hang out,they don’t have any money.”

Zahnow said semiconscious reiteration of stigma and discrimination over time would create a rise in suspicion around certain groups without people realising it.

“It might not be on purpose,but the fact is that it’s ethnic profiling and this constant attachment of particular groups with a criminogenic profile.

“Whether it’s using words to describe or putting pictures up,there are particular groups that get associated with a negative view,suspicion.

“It’s ethnic groups,and it’s young people.

“You might have people speak out[about racism] – there was someone who said ‘you can’t say that,mate,that’s not fair’,but in other cases,that doesn’t get checked.”

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Crime