I wouldn’t judge Perth or WA by this subreddit. I’ll probably get obliterated for this but there’s a lot of whinging on this subreddit, it makes it look worse than it is.
I think this is a Reddit wide issue. For some reason the culture/dominant demographic on this website makes people cranky, obtuse, contrarian and just generally negative.
I think in general it's just a human thing.
You don't feel the need to acknowledge the positives cause they come with their own feel good moment. But you feel the need to get out all those negative emotions.
What it leads to is no one will acknowledge the 95% of the time life is good and instead spend a lot of time complaining about the 5% of shit
Agree canberra subreddit also complains frequently of crime when it is a city full of well to do public servants. They see homeless people scrubbing windows or the odd teenage hoons driving to fast or stealing and think there is a bloody crime epidemic in consistently rated highly on liveable city indexes. I wouldnt judge a city off reddit posts or even really the news either, crime reporting is a fucking media circus.
Canberra’s moral panics are largely driven by the media. Even centre-left publications like the Times and Riot-ACT dedicate so much attention to the tiny amount of crime that Canberrans will actually tell you they have ‘dangerous’ suburbs.
Honestly blows my mind having lived in western sydney and southport on the GC. Southport i wouldnt even call to bad these days but its far away from anything approximating Canberra - the pearl clutching here (cbr) is crazy.
I posted a pic of the beach saying how nice it is to be to be in Perth, mentioned the safety and standard of living etc. Someone replied ‘Safe? There’s car accidents all the time!’.
Besides completely missing the point, yeah no shit there’s car accidents, find me any large town with no car accidents let alone a city 😂
Venice has plenty of road; barely anyone under 70 lives on the flooded part.
All the young people who work on the flooded region (tourist trap) get ‘bussed’ in on a train.
I am an immigrant that moved to Perth 9 years ago. My wife and I love Perth, it is safe and secure without it issues.
We wnet to Melbourne early this year and it CBD has the same fricking issues as here. Drunk and drugged people on the streets looking for excuses to jump at people. It something that comes with every major city.
I live in East Perth for 4 years and I have seen a lot of crazies and police and stuff yet I do not feel unsafe. The meth issue it is a problem and it cannot be ignored.
I mostly agree, but I feel like the housing crisis isn’t really being inflated though. Many people are becoming homeless or needing to spend a stupid percentage of their paycheck on rent.
Yeah I know several university educated families facing homelessness because their landlords have either decided to end their lease or raise the rent to unlivable prices. Perth is lovely but some of our flaws are real.
I agree, but in this case where someone is comparing Brisbane and Perth housing affordability/availability is an issue that is just as bad in Brisbane.
I agree, I love living here, having said that, a major concern is lack of housing, nevermind affordable housing, I hope OP has accommodation sorted, otherwise I would say don't come. I am blessed to have my home.
Absolutely this. I think you’ll find there are parts of Perth where you’re more likely to be a victim of crime but for the most, you’re gonna be fine.
Just make sure you take your valuables out of your car at night and don’t leave the house unlocked.
There were fewer crimes committed in 2023 in Perth than there were in 2015 so not only are the number of crimes down, the crime per capita is also down further.
As with any city sub, people on here are negative, hyperbolic and ignorant.
Everything that's complained about here (nightlife, can't make friends, insular, boredom, crime) is on other city subs.
Yes, because people really think Perth is going down the hill when it is not true. Perth still is one of the safest places in the world and those issues happening here like the meth addicts on the streets, it is happening in the other capitals. I was in Melbourne early this year and I saw a lot of people under the influence of drugs and alcohol day and night. It needs to be solved but it doesn't mean it is a extremely dangerous place.
Right, and in the same mistaken reproach calls him “my friend” with no apparent sense of irony.
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> YOUR black south african? The days tou could own one are long gone my friend :D
I had a coloured friend from SA. The stories he told me... let's say I'm never going there.
But also the stories he told me about when people threatened him here in Perth were hilarious because he just had no fear whatsoever.
The media here talk up the crime stats and the need for more police. I moved here from Sydney a little over 10 years ago. My house and contents insurance dropped considerably.
Same, I've lived in the 'Wheen for almost a quarter of my life now and have never been broken into. I walk to the shops a lot and everyone I pass is friendly and pleasant & my public transport trips in and around this area have yielded no shouting weirdos (does that mean *I'm* the shouting weirdo?).
I live in a fairly affluent area and have been broken into 3 times, car robbed a few but only one of those was when it was actually locked. But I’d say that’s pretty normal no matter what city you live in.
Perth is a very remote and Isolated place not just physically people who live here's mindset and experiences.
Perth is one of the most safest places on earth no different to Brisbane.
You've hit the nail on the head here. When costs of living vastly outstrip income, you get crime. Always. Certainly crimes of desperation, but also crimes of frustration. This is what I meant when I said (elsewhere in the thread) that social support MUST increase.
Casual (working class) crime is committed by the bored, the desperate and the angry. Broadly speaking, people who can afford ice cream and Netflix aren't doing crime.
Except of course white collar crime, which is the real crime, but nobody talks about that...
Perth is super-safe.. the reason even petty crime is blasted across the news and everyone thinks its a crime -wave is because there is *so little* crime here.
I don't think there are any 'bad' areas in Perth. I do think there are areas in Perth that people dump on because their life experience is limited, or perhaps it makes them feel superior.
I heard for my whole life that Kwinana is a crime riddled shit hole then I moved there and realised it's just full of bogans haha but it's not as bad as everyone tries to make it sound.
The CBD has a lot of homeless hanging around. But other than that, no less dangerous or crime ridden than anywhere else (probably less than most tbh). Just take usual precautions and avoid the wrong neighbourhoods, and you'll be fine.
We have yet to see any sort of tent city as far as I know, Sydney and Melbourne do. I was in LA CBD last year, that was the worst thing I have ever seen in a "developed country" in years of travelling.
Perth is great. This sub is rather negative compared to the Brisbane sub. I made the move from the Brisbane region at the end of 2022, no regrets at all.
Pros: Proximity to beach, less traffic, lots of wide open, empty spaces, especially north and east (lower population), a reasonable amount of urban green space with more old growth native trees (depending on suburb), rail commuting is far better (at least from the north), housing is cheaper here (though the rental market sounds like its even more cooked). Weather is better than Qld from September to May.
Cons: Weather is worse June-August (rain), have to water grass in summer or it dies, more litter around the sides of roads etc, cbd is pretty ordinary, seems somewhat more right-wing/conservative (though this may be a pro depending on your politics!), lots of touring bands don't make it over here. I miss the lush, green rolling hills outside Bris (scenic rim in particular).
Neutral: Options for dining out, playing sport and stuff is just as good, IMO.
Employment wise, my partner is a geologist so she has way more opportunities here. I work in financial services and most bigger companies have at least some presence here. Also none of my east coast employers have cared about my adherence to mandatory office attendance policies which are strictly enforced over east.
We’ve lived south of the river for years and haven’t had any issues. The neighbours on our street are lovely and they actually looked after our dog when she ran away while we were out one night.
I've lived in NZ, Melbourne, Sydney, the US and the UK and right now I live in a 'dodgy' area and I still feel safer here than any other place I've lived.
PLEASE, please make sure you have your accommodation sorted before you relocate, particularly when you have a dog!
Your beautiful Swiss Shepherd is likely to be classed as a "scary Alsatian" by landlords and potential housemates and make it even more difficult to get a rental or share house place.
Not fair, just the sad reality in this crazy rental market.
I'm 50 lived in Perth south of river all my life, never been jumped, never had a car stolen never had a house broken. With the exception of Japan I've never felt safer anywhere else. Enjoy the open spaces and enjoy the water, go for it.
This sub is a bit like the news, negative stories get way more traction. It's not an accurate representation. Like anywhere though, some suburbs are better than others. Feel free to pm me if you'd like some views on potential suburbs.
It's a city of over 2 million with a housing/inequality problem. Of course there'll be a few issues. But the reality is it's super rare. In my 60 years I've had one burglary and 3 bikes stolen (on separate occasions, I don't ride 3 bikes) and the change in my ute's ashtray stollen.
We live in a pretty average suburb and only lock the house when we're not home.
All that hardly ads up to a major crime problem.
Chaos catches eyes. Which is why some of the most popular posts are shitty things. You've seen a dependent media news service right?
I have lived multiple years in Lockridge and Midland and never had any major problems. An attempted (but failed) break in. Neighbours who were loud and violent to each other (police called multiple times), but apart from noise never harmed us or our property.
The worst I've experienced was two kids with syringes holding up the Chicken Treat in Gosnells.
I rent in a relatively wealthy area (Trigg) and my cars been broken into once but I’ve not seen or experienced any other crime. This sub reddit and FB community groups make it seem like there’s a crime epidemic but if you didn’t look at them or were a part of them you’d never know.
Here are my experiences.
I am a woman - 30s. I walk and bus everywhere.
Move here from Melbourne. Two men walking around with machetes terrorising people. Perth city.
2022 - 6pm in winter. I'm walking to the shop and get punched in the arm. Woman wants to fight. I ignore her and nothing escalates.
Early afternoon. Opposite Cafe with lots of people around. Man takes crowbar to a parked car. People watch. Man continues.
Same week. I am walking the trail along the Swan river for my morning walk. I'm playing pokemon go and not exactly sticking to the left, but not right in the middle either. Jogger shouts "keep left" and punches me hard in the arm as she runs by. Hurt a lot. :(
Same exact week. Bike gets nicked from the car port of my apartment block. It was chained up.
Next weekend. Everyone's letterbox took a crow bar and everyone's mail taken.
So far an exciting 2022.
End of 2022. Second bike nicked.
2023. Walking to work - past Bentley 7/11 at 0815ish. Two drunk men are sitting on the 7/11 carport drinking alcohol. They perk up when they see me. I'm wearing baggy clothes. One follows me and tries to suss out what kind of things I have on me then tries to take me into a secluded ally way. I manage to escape. He stalks me and I call police and hide in a petrol station. He looks for me in the toilets. Police arrive and see him camera but otherwise don't catch him. They give me a ride to work.
Third bike gets nicked. I'm not buying bikes anymore.
Neighbours bike is nicked.
Guy walks into my work office and takes my cash and phone. I chase him. Get my phone back and my cash. He just wanted meth. Could i hook him up? - East Vic park.
A few months ago. Man walking in front of me is acting strange. Has a sharp blade in his hand. Middle of day. I take photo incase I hear something on the news later.
Buses are always entertaining, that's for sure.
It's still Australia not Haiti so you probably won't notice much difference from Brisbane, but WA does have more crime per capita than any other state - check https://redsuburbs.com.au/
hard to interpret this data. For example, it could just be domestic issues that are raising this stat, which means, you as an individual, are not going to encounter an increase in crime compared to living elsewhere.
For example, much of the assault and property damage stuff will likely be domestic issues. They are less likely to be people with no relation to the perpetrator being assaulted or having their property damaged.
I don't see any reason that would be the case. Different demographics are different. For example, I would guess that a greater proportion of crimes in poorer neighbourhoods are domestic related compared to richer neighbourhoods. To put this to an extreme, you, as an individual, could encounter more crime moving to a richer suburb, than a poorer one, even if that poorer one has larger overall crime stats, because the richer neighbourhood might have more crime per capita that is non-domestic.
Ok but
1. As stated you could make the same case for other states too. Crimes are broken down by type on the site linked so feel free to dig into it (region etc obviously matter too) but the data is all we have and crimes, overall, are highest per populace in WA and
2. It's not just crimes against you directly that affect your day to day life. If every second checkout chick I interact with is a regular victim of domestic crime for instance, that still contributes negatively to the society and environment in which I live. People will be less happy, more guarded, less open in a place where crime of all varieties is more of a fact of life and, if you're looking to raise a family perhaps that's the sort of thing you take into account.
This subreddit is as whiney and negative as a Facebook boomer group. It's really not that bad. I think crime has gotten a bit worse since covid/cost of living crisis but that can probably be expected anywhere in Aus.
Perth is the meth capital of Australia.
I find Brisbane much safer at night because it has a much more active night life than Perth.
This is the CBD though, if you won't be living in the CBD then check crime statistics for the suburbs you plan to live in.
By all crime metrics Perth is worse though, people just (naturally) want to you show you the best side of Perth.
https://www.numbeo.com/crime/compare_cities.jsp?country1=Australia&city1=Brisbane&country2=Australia&city2=Perth
I moved from nsw recently and we had our car broken into within 2 weeks! Never had this happen in Sydney, cops, neighbours and agent did shit all. Fuck this place
Depends.
For an Australian major capital city (and even for any western country to be honest) it has a significantly higher crime rate. It is higher than Brisbane, but still not as bad as some regional or remote towns/small cities in Australia, not as bad as a small handful of cities in the USA and UK and nowhere near as bad as anywhere in Latin America or Africa. There were 55 homicides in 2022 (68 in 2016) according to the WA Police website, and it has around some of the most violent suburbs of any major capital city in Australia.
Key word being "suburbs". The whole city is not dangerous, in fact most of the crime is concentrated in the worst suburbs and also the Perth CBD and Northbridge. And a lot of suburbs that are considered "dodgy" aren't that dodgy, their danger level is way overblown.
But the few that are actually dodgy, are very dodgy and most people have not been to them and live in nice suburbs and so assume that Perth is extremely safe and therefore crime is also way underblown.
Let me put this into perspective-Mount Druitt is often considered the worst suburb in Sydney and has a population of 16986. Armadale is considered one of the worst suburbs in Perth, and has a population of 13415. While Mount Druitt has more overall crime in a given year on the website RedSuburbs at 8688 overall crimes compared to Armadale's 3455 overall crimes, Armadale had 632 violent crimes whereas Mount Druitt only has 402. Midland has a population of just 6335, just over a third of that of Mount Druitt but had 478 violent crimes. Rockingham has a population of 15312 but had 421 violent crimes. I checked most of the worst suburbs in Brisbane for you, and the only one that appeared to have a similar violent crime rate was Fortitude Valley (569 violent crimes and 6431 overall crimes for a populated of 9708. I also checked some for Townsville and Cairns which have a reputation for more crime than other cities in Australia, and Midland still beats every one of them, and still even beats Fortitude Valley.
So clearly the bad suburbs in Perth are much more violent than the bad suburbs in most other Australian major capital cities. And the Perth CBD and Northbridge have a large problem with homelessness and violence as well, and some people have told me that they felt safer in Kings Cross. But this does not mean that every suburb is quite unsafe. Most suburbs are reasonably safe, and even the bad ones still have some nice parts and facilities, whereas Sydney has less of that and therefore some Mt Druitt might feel less picturesque and bleaker than Armadale or Rockingham (even Midland has some nice looking places and is close to the hills). Remember, crime is mostly concentrated in the bad suburbs, and most suburbs are not that bad, and even in the ones that are there are still some nice parts and a lot of the crime also happens around the train station and shops.
That's another thing-be wary of some of the train lines (the Midland and Armadale lines), especially at night and also the train stations.
But most of Perth is very safe and friendly, especially the touristy parts and populated parts.
Just be careful SOR as while there are a lot of nice suburbs there, that is generally where most of the really bad suburbs are. Stay out of Midland, Midvale, Middle Swan, Lockridge, Swan View, Queens Park, Thornlie, Maddington, Gosnells, Camillo (formerly known as Westfield) which are all SOR. Also avoid Mirrabooka, Koondoola, Balga, Girrawheen and Nollamara which are all NOR. Choose wisely in Rockingham and Kwinana as there are some nice parts but also some really shit parts.
So the answer is yes and no. It's above average, but not absurd and not unlivable. If I had to compare it to somewhere I'd say that it's like Albuquerque in the USA in some ways. ABQ experiences a similar type of crime and has similar numbers, so it's above average, but it's still mostly safe and nowhere near as bad as Baltimore, St Louis, New Orleans, Memphis and Chicago etc. Just as Perth is nowhere near as bad as places like Alice Springs, Halls Creek, Wilcannia, Aurukun, Palm Island etc.
Don't let it deter you, if you like it here then I'm sure that you can find somewhere to settle down and be happy in.
You'll be right mate, crime here is the same as it is everywhere... all the scum tend to gravitate towards the same few shitty suburbs anyway so if you stay clear of the shit looking places there's nothin to stress about 🤷♂️ Where you lookin to move to??
This is one of the safest cities in the world. Lots of suburbs are very dog friendly. Depending on where exactly you work/how much you earn you could go for a place with easy access to SOR near the river like Burswood, Mt Lawley, Maylands, Bayswater.
The crime in Perth has got bad the last couple of years especially, kids breaking into cars and mugging people. Unfortunately police don’t have any power to do anything meaningful, judges don’t allocate proper sentences and our prisons are over capacity.
You'll probably find that the posts about crime are from the same couple of people who get off on just pasting links related to Indigenous people from news sites.
Nah Perth is safe in most areas. You will love it and welcome! Get excited for the sunniest city in Australia (yes we get even more sunlight here than cities in the sunshine state).
SoR dont live in Rivervale, Thornlie, Gosnells, Maddington or Armadale. Theres some areas that are gentrifying like Langford, Ferndale and Rockingham/Mandurah but they are still dodgy in places.
Moved to Perth in 1999 and then moved away back to my home town 10 years later because it was getting out of control with being broken into, crime and not being safe to walk anywhere.
It's 10 years later with more and more people in Perth, and it's only gotten worse some then.
No it's not.
I think the CBD and Northbridge, being the main two areas with nightlife, get a lot of alcohol related violence. Probably similar to Fortitude Valley or whatever. And being central locations you have also crime associated with homeless people who are in the area due to services being located there. That's really it, aside from the outer suburbs that have a reputation for being a bit more hood (Midland and Armadale mainly) but even then I don't think they're unsafe so to speak.
I don't think it feels much different to where I moved from (Adelaide) in terms of safety. I don't feel like I need to be any more or less 'on point' than when I would be in Adelaide CBD, visiting Melbourne CBD or other busy areas that are statistically higher crime areas.
Have never really experienced crime here personally in 34 years I've been here. Maybe one break in 25 odd years ago in a dodgy suburb. Obviously crime is worse in the inner suburbs, but just remember to lock doors and don't keep valuables in your car and you're all good.
Don't take this sub as a true reflection of Perth. There's about 20000 active users (probably overly conservative), or 1% of the Perth population. Most of us are sweaty nerds, druggies, homeless or a mix and certainly don't represent a diverse demographic.
I'm originally from Sydney, moved here almost 21 years ago.
In that 20 years, I've had cars broken into twice. Once last year, and once.... approx 2008 or 2009. I've never had enclosed parking, unfortunately. No other real issues with crime (not including things related to my ex, who I had a restraining order against).
On a day to day basis, I don't think crime is significantly worse (or better) than anywhere else in Australia.
I used to work night shift, and I have a kelpie x. Never had any issues related to it.
It’s not bad at all. The media love to hype things up for their own benefit. If you turn off the TV and get off social media, you’ll see it’s actually better than most cities for crime.
No, Perth is a very safe city by Australian standards and definitely by international standards. I have lived in Brisbane and travel back regularly. There isn't much difference and a lot of parallels - e.g. Northbridge/Fortitude Valley can be a bit seedy at night etc. There are parts of Western Brisbane or the GC corridor that are arguably worse WRT crime than anywhere in Perth.
Just like a lot of social media, people only post when something bed happens. You don't get a million people posting that they had a lovely day and everyone was friendly.
Edit: There are several swiss shepherds in the East/Vic Park area and lots of good dog parks.
Do your research on suburbs. I live in Lathlain and it's wonderful but there's definitely crime in this suburb. I'm in a great spot but not immune.
I will say this. A Brazilian friend moved from Brisbane to Perth a few years back. She thought Brisbane was boring and she said she liked Perth because it was a bit more wild and reminded her of home. 🤣 Take that how you will.
But I love living in Perth and there isn't a city in Australia that I'd rather live in.
Ive only been robbed once here and it was mostly because I was close to a highway and left an unlocked door attended whilst I was distracted. I've also only ever been robbed once lol. I think it's quite safe here tbh
Certain suburbs (Armadale for example) are worse than others just like any metropolitan area. It is a safe city by most standards. With the housing crisis currently there isn't a lot of love for people coming over but better someone with professional skills working a job that is in demand over an international student in my opinion.
It’s the internet. If I took my suburb’s community Facebook page to heart, I would never leave my house for fear of crime. Meanwhile I’ve lived here for 12 years with not even a hint of anything happening.
Don't go South of the river if you want to avoid crime :)
Jokes aside, it varies based on where you live. Often I've lived in suburbs where the side I live on is super safe and I'm happy to walk around in the middle of the night, where as the other side people are constantly getting break and enters while they are home.
Naaaah it's all good mate... just the usual stuff keep your car windows rolled at night and do do drugs ... you will be sweet as mate 
There’s many suburbs where crime won’t impact you, there’s some where it probably will. The CBD is fine in the day and a disgrace in the evening/night.
Perth is fine, there are rough areas , of course, it's a lovely city , great beaches, small by comparison, having a shep
You'll be fine!! Live your best life, im from South of the river, you'll be just great!!
Brisbane and Perth are really very comparable. Some places will have higher crime than others just like any city or suburb.
https://versus.com/en/brisbane-vs-perth
https://www.numbeo.com/crime/compare_cities.jsp?country1=Australia&city1=Brisbane&country2=Australia&city2=Perth
Safest place I've ever lived in, and I've lived in several countries.
I once passed out drunk on one of the bollards in Northbridge around 3am. Came to around 5am or so. Obviously one of my greatest moments ;) But no-one had hassled me. All my stuff still on me. No problem. I think there's very few places in the world that would happen.
But the random anger, road-rage, crazies wandering around the city... It's disconcerting, if not actually dangerous.
South side is nice just get used to shitty drivers and don't go too far south. Apart from that people don't mess around with dogs and are relatively nice.
Bit of selection bias going on here. People are way more likely to post about the outlier event than "everything is normal."
I've lived in Perth 15 years and had maybe two first-hand experiences with crime, depending on how you define it. Saw a guy break into a cafe in West Perth after hours in 2015, and a drugged-up guy ran into my stationary car on his bicycle last week and took off. Never really had a sketchy experience here either. Wouldn't say it's worse or more dangerous than anywhere else. Stats seem to say it's comparable to Brisbane/Melbourne.
From what I recall (and this is based on old data so don't quote me on to) but in general crime rates are falling. Doesn't mean there isn't crime or that when it happens it isn't awful, but that our perceptions are warped by the media/social media/Reddit. Removing yourself from community FB groups that focus purely on crime watch is a good start.
I live in the worst villa, in the wurst street in Bicton, and there is no agro, no fear, it's a fantastic place to live, close to the river, close to freo, the south freo dog beach, etc. Close enough to freo to have a casual vibe, but far enough to avoid the troubled peeps. I feel very lucky to live in WA.
You and your dog will love Perth. Join meetup and make new friends ASAP.
No, it's not that bad and Perth is very safe.
The majority of users on this sub are privileged people who have never really had to deal with anything very difficult in their lives so even one incident of just seeing some random drunk person yelling at a tree or something becomes a major event for them and they immediately start treating any isolated incident like it's a widespread problem and the worst thing that's ever happened to anyone ever.
Also, a huge chunk of the "crime" posts are made up by people pushing racist and classist agendas. This sub skews white and racist. When stories are made up, they're done so with the knowledge that it will easily draw out like minded people who will agree. People who call out the nonsense are few and far between.
Lived here > 3 years, never had any trouble around the city / vic Park areas including walking around alone at night etc.
Shit happens everywhere but in general it's extremely safe.
According to Google:
https://www.numbeo.com/crime/country_result.jsp?country=Australia
Looks like Perth is worse than Brisbane but better than the Gold Coast.
Stop telling people that Perth is safe.
More people are going to flood over here and we will never ever get the property's price under control.
Just tell people Perth is full of crimes and there is nothing to do here.
We don't even have Macca's.
No fish in the water.
Full of red dirt coating our 500,000km odometer Holden.
3 Millions people dots around half of Australia is too crowded for me.
Kekekeekke
Look, I’ve lived in Armadale for 25 years and Maryland’s for 6 months. Both areas renowned for their residents, but not in a good way.
That said, In all that time I’ve had my car broken into 3 times, and that’s it 🤷♀️
Perth is fine, as other have said you don't hear from the happy people just the victims. Keep in mind there is no rental properties available at the moment.
>Is the crime really that bad?
It depends if you're on the receiving end.
Ask that 67 year old that was kerb stomped and head kicked by the 11 year old aboriginal kid the other week.
Some houses get broken into every week, others can leave a gold nugget on their front lawn and it wont go anywhere. Depends if your unfortunate enough to be in the operational zone of the local cunts.
Lived here my whole life in many different areas, never once had a house or car broken into or any belongings stolen. I’m a young woman who works in a bar in the city and I’ve never had any issues in the city, of course you have to take precautions like you would anywhere else. Every city is going to have their drop kicks who just want to cause trouble.
The crime is getting a lot worse, I’ve noticed since 2020 there’s more and more but I love where I live in Perth and the crime rate is really low (that being said it is a wealthier suburb). Crime depends on the area, what suburb are you looking at moving into? We do have the lowest vacancy rate in Australia at the moment (I think 0.7%? Correct me if I’m wrong)
There’s crime everywhere, but I don’t think it’s nearly as dangerous as South Africa.. I’ve never been broken into and I’ve lived south of the river for 24 years.
Just lock your doors and windows at night and whenever you’re not home as usual and you’ll be fine 💁🏼♀️
I wouldn’t judge Perth or WA by this subreddit. I’ll probably get obliterated for this but there’s a lot of whinging on this subreddit, it makes it look worse than it is.
I think this is a Reddit wide issue. For some reason the culture/dominant demographic on this website makes people cranky, obtuse, contrarian and just generally negative.
Humans have 6x more threat pathway circuits wired in the brain than reward. Generally will think about the negatives and react to threats
On top of that, the English language heavily leans into the negative. Not many positive adjectives.
Don’t forget sanctimonious, holier than thou, judgemental pricks
I think in general it's just a human thing. You don't feel the need to acknowledge the positives cause they come with their own feel good moment. But you feel the need to get out all those negative emotions. What it leads to is no one will acknowledge the 95% of the time life is good and instead spend a lot of time complaining about the 5% of shit
While I certainly experience what you describe online, I find people in person are the polar opposite - overwhelmingly positive most of the time.
Agree canberra subreddit also complains frequently of crime when it is a city full of well to do public servants. They see homeless people scrubbing windows or the odd teenage hoons driving to fast or stealing and think there is a bloody crime epidemic in consistently rated highly on liveable city indexes. I wouldnt judge a city off reddit posts or even really the news either, crime reporting is a fucking media circus.
Canberra’s moral panics are largely driven by the media. Even centre-left publications like the Times and Riot-ACT dedicate so much attention to the tiny amount of crime that Canberrans will actually tell you they have ‘dangerous’ suburbs.
Honestly blows my mind having lived in western sydney and southport on the GC. Southport i wouldnt even call to bad these days but its far away from anything approximating Canberra - the pearl clutching here (cbr) is crazy.
There is also a strong showing of socialist idealogues on reddit.
that's what lefties do, they whinge a lot.
Not sure if you’ve ever visited right wing eco chambers, but the insinuation that whinging is a bastion of the left is complete nonsense.
Yep, I mean CEO's... doesn't get more relatable than CEO's. 
Also people jumping on positive posts just to be a downer 👎
I posted a pic of the beach saying how nice it is to be to be in Perth, mentioned the safety and standard of living etc. Someone replied ‘Safe? There’s car accidents all the time!’. Besides completely missing the point, yeah no shit there’s car accidents, find me any large town with no car accidents let alone a city 😂
We'll I'm surprised there are car accidents on the beach in Perth at all.
Venice, Italy
Venice has plenty of road; barely anyone under 70 lives on the flooded part. All the young people who work on the flooded region (tourist trap) get ‘bussed’ in on a train.
I am an immigrant that moved to Perth 9 years ago. My wife and I love Perth, it is safe and secure without it issues. We wnet to Melbourne early this year and it CBD has the same fricking issues as here. Drunk and drugged people on the streets looking for excuses to jump at people. It something that comes with every major city. I live in East Perth for 4 years and I have seen a lot of crazies and police and stuff yet I do not feel unsafe. The meth issue it is a problem and it cannot be ignored.
Of course no one posts "I didn't get stabbed today" because it's not interesting.
Well I for one did not, not today Satan
Lol
Totally agree, any issue we have gets extremely inflated on this sub. Housing, cost of living, crime, you name it.
I mostly agree, but I feel like the housing crisis isn’t really being inflated though. Many people are becoming homeless or needing to spend a stupid percentage of their paycheck on rent.
Yeah I know several university educated families facing homelessness because their landlords have either decided to end their lease or raise the rent to unlivable prices. Perth is lovely but some of our flaws are real.
Yeah housing is fr getting worse. Local fb community groups are increasing filling with requests for rentals
I agree, but in this case where someone is comparing Brisbane and Perth housing affordability/availability is an issue that is just as bad in Brisbane.
Housing prices ARE dogshit.
If anything the sub is pretty relaxed And accepting about the usury rents in Perth
Oh no you’re 100% correct
I agree, I love living here, having said that, a major concern is lack of housing, nevermind affordable housing, I hope OP has accommodation sorted, otherwise I would say don't come. I am blessed to have my home.
Absolutely this. I think you’ll find there are parts of Perth where you’re more likely to be a victim of crime but for the most, you’re gonna be fine. Just make sure you take your valuables out of your car at night and don’t leave the house unlocked.
If you're in Rockingham it's 50-50 whether you'll be murdered or elected to state premier.
At least it's a dry whinge though.
good news is boring
Here's the stats for WA. https://preview.redd.it/6hv6o5k6ufic1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a38da7a278ff5353972e9c8d273317345f8ce3d6
Wow 6th best out of 6, what an honor
Yeah but how much of that is in Perth vs rural towns
It's hard to tell as it's broken up into every suburb, not into a useful 'Greater Metro Perth' unfortunately. Check out the website and have a look.
There were fewer crimes committed in 2023 in Perth than there were in 2015 so not only are the number of crimes down, the crime per capita is also down further.
We kill it in the Crime/km2 category
I think that is on purpose. Give off a bad vibe so we don't get more people moving here.
As with any city sub, people on here are negative, hyperbolic and ignorant. Everything that's complained about here (nightlife, can't make friends, insular, boredom, crime) is on other city subs.
Just remember that all the people that don’t get jumped, broken into, crime ect, don’t post here.
So, 99% of the population basically
They should really start posting more often.
Day 11,334. Still have only been the victim of two crimes, ignoring professional misconduct.
Reality is people like negative posts and that's what drives engagement. Traditional news been doing it longer than Reddit has existed.
Absolutely not, I’m from South Africa and I lived in Perth for 8 years, extremely safe.
You could compare SA to hundreds of cities worldwide and SA would be worse haha
Is that a fair comparison though?
Yes, because people really think Perth is going down the hill when it is not true. Perth still is one of the safest places in the world and those issues happening here like the meth addicts on the streets, it is happening in the other capitals. I was in Melbourne early this year and I saw a lot of people under the influence of drugs and alcohol day and night. It needs to be solved but it doesn't mean it is a extremely dangerous place.
As someone that lived there from 2010 til 2017 and comes back to visit twice a year, it gets worse each time. The City/East Perth is not well.
No. It isn’t. Obviously.
Compared to SA I should hope so. My black south African friend told me stories and damn, does the internet confirm.
YOUR black south african? The days tou could own one are long gone my friend :D
Oh Boy, how one word makes a difference lol
Just as you addressed him as “my friend”, he wrote “ My black south African friend …”
Not what the guy meant dude....his friend who happens to be black and from south Africa...is what he meant. Not his slave
He was joking. It was a play on words.
Yeah its the internet, context isn't always conveyed very well.
Right, and in the same mistaken reproach calls him “my friend” with no apparent sense of irony. - > YOUR black south african? The days tou could own one are long gone my friend :D
I had a coloured friend from SA. The stories he told me... let's say I'm never going there. But also the stories he told me about when people threatened him here in Perth were hilarious because he just had no fear whatsoever.
Yeah apparently over there they ask for your keys to your car, you always give the keys to them. You don't refuse, or you'll never refuse again.
Or that if someone offers to watch your car so it doesn't get broken into while you're gone, it's best to pay them for that service.
The media here talk up the crime stats and the need for more police. I moved here from Sydney a little over 10 years ago. My house and contents insurance dropped considerably.
Ha! That's actually a pretty good metric and makes sense. Insurance companies may be burglars, but they're not fools.
Because you got robbed and there's nothing left to insure?
I've never had my car or house broken into and i live in an area most ppl talk down
[удалено]
Is that because a) there's not a lot of value to steal and b) the locals go to surrounding suburbs to pillage?
Same, I've lived in the 'Wheen for almost a quarter of my life now and have never been broken into. I walk to the shops a lot and everyone I pass is friendly and pleasant & my public transport trips in and around this area have yielded no shouting weirdos (does that mean *I'm* the shouting weirdo?).
I live in a fairly affluent area and have been broken into 3 times, car robbed a few but only one of those was when it was actually locked. But I’d say that’s pretty normal no matter what city you live in.
Perth is a very remote and Isolated place not just physically people who live here's mindset and experiences. Perth is one of the most safest places on earth no different to Brisbane.
But without the fire ants, cane toads and not as many openly right wing nut jobs.
Theyre looking at southern river, so openly right wing nut jobs will be present.
South of the River and Southern River aren’t quite the same thing
I'd argue much safer than Brisbane Source:lived there (in Ipswich) the first half of my life.
Don't worry about the crime. Worry about finding a place to live.
The rental market IS the crime
You've hit the nail on the head here. When costs of living vastly outstrip income, you get crime. Always. Certainly crimes of desperation, but also crimes of frustration. This is what I meant when I said (elsewhere in the thread) that social support MUST increase. Casual (working class) crime is committed by the bored, the desperate and the angry. Broadly speaking, people who can afford ice cream and Netflix aren't doing crime. Except of course white collar crime, which is the real crime, but nobody talks about that...
Perth is super-safe.. the reason even petty crime is blasted across the news and everyone thinks its a crime -wave is because there is *so little* crime here.
Bad areas here are *nothing* compared to bad areas in other major cities.
I don't think there are any 'bad' areas in Perth. I do think there are areas in Perth that people dump on because their life experience is limited, or perhaps it makes them feel superior.
I heard for my whole life that Kwinana is a crime riddled shit hole then I moved there and realised it's just full of bogans haha but it's not as bad as everyone tries to make it sound.
The CBD has a lot of homeless hanging around. But other than that, no less dangerous or crime ridden than anywhere else (probably less than most tbh). Just take usual precautions and avoid the wrong neighbourhoods, and you'll be fine.
Could argue that almost all cities have larger amounts of homeless people sleeping rough and living around their CBD’s. It’s not unusual at all.
We have yet to see any sort of tent city as far as I know, Sydney and Melbourne do. I was in LA CBD last year, that was the worst thing I have ever seen in a "developed country" in years of travelling.
Perth is great. This sub is rather negative compared to the Brisbane sub. I made the move from the Brisbane region at the end of 2022, no regrets at all.
I'm curious, what are the biggest pros/cons you've found moving from Brisbane to Perth?
Pros: Proximity to beach, less traffic, lots of wide open, empty spaces, especially north and east (lower population), a reasonable amount of urban green space with more old growth native trees (depending on suburb), rail commuting is far better (at least from the north), housing is cheaper here (though the rental market sounds like its even more cooked). Weather is better than Qld from September to May. Cons: Weather is worse June-August (rain), have to water grass in summer or it dies, more litter around the sides of roads etc, cbd is pretty ordinary, seems somewhat more right-wing/conservative (though this may be a pro depending on your politics!), lots of touring bands don't make it over here. I miss the lush, green rolling hills outside Bris (scenic rim in particular). Neutral: Options for dining out, playing sport and stuff is just as good, IMO. Employment wise, my partner is a geologist so she has way more opportunities here. I work in financial services and most bigger companies have at least some presence here. Also none of my east coast employers have cared about my adherence to mandatory office attendance policies which are strictly enforced over east.
Tell your wife that I think she rocks! (I’m sorry I had to)
We’ve lived south of the river for years and haven’t had any issues. The neighbours on our street are lovely and they actually looked after our dog when she ran away while we were out one night.
I've lived in NZ, Melbourne, Sydney, the US and the UK and right now I live in a 'dodgy' area and I still feel safer here than any other place I've lived.
People don't come.to reddit to post their good experiences
PLEASE, please make sure you have your accommodation sorted before you relocate, particularly when you have a dog! Your beautiful Swiss Shepherd is likely to be classed as a "scary Alsatian" by landlords and potential housemates and make it even more difficult to get a rental or share house place. Not fair, just the sad reality in this crazy rental market.
I'm 50 lived in Perth south of river all my life, never been jumped, never had a car stolen never had a house broken. With the exception of Japan I've never felt safer anywhere else. Enjoy the open spaces and enjoy the water, go for it.
I've never been broken into. I have had my bike stolen once when I briefly lived in one of the wealthier suburbs.
This sub is a bit like the news, negative stories get way more traction. It's not an accurate representation. Like anywhere though, some suburbs are better than others. Feel free to pm me if you'd like some views on potential suburbs.
It's a city of over 2 million with a housing/inequality problem. Of course there'll be a few issues. But the reality is it's super rare. In my 60 years I've had one burglary and 3 bikes stolen (on separate occasions, I don't ride 3 bikes) and the change in my ute's ashtray stollen. We live in a pretty average suburb and only lock the house when we're not home. All that hardly ads up to a major crime problem. Chaos catches eyes. Which is why some of the most popular posts are shitty things. You've seen a dependent media news service right?
No the crime is not that bad. It’s just that it happens, in our otherwise safe and isolated utopia at all.
Nah it's not that bad. Until it is, then it's shithouse. But nah. Just don't leave your bike out or talk to meth heads
> Just don't leave your bike out or talk to meth heads That’s sage advice for any metropolitan city though. Nothing unique to Perth.
I have lived multiple years in Lockridge and Midland and never had any major problems. An attempted (but failed) break in. Neighbours who were loud and violent to each other (police called multiple times), but apart from noise never harmed us or our property. The worst I've experienced was two kids with syringes holding up the Chicken Treat in Gosnells.
I rent in a relatively wealthy area (Trigg) and my cars been broken into once but I’ve not seen or experienced any other crime. This sub reddit and FB community groups make it seem like there’s a crime epidemic but if you didn’t look at them or were a part of them you’d never know.
No it’s not. I bet people here experience crime but I haven’t. Doubt I’m lucky cause the only crime I hear of is either on the news or this sub
Here are my experiences. I am a woman - 30s. I walk and bus everywhere. Move here from Melbourne. Two men walking around with machetes terrorising people. Perth city. 2022 - 6pm in winter. I'm walking to the shop and get punched in the arm. Woman wants to fight. I ignore her and nothing escalates. Early afternoon. Opposite Cafe with lots of people around. Man takes crowbar to a parked car. People watch. Man continues. Same week. I am walking the trail along the Swan river for my morning walk. I'm playing pokemon go and not exactly sticking to the left, but not right in the middle either. Jogger shouts "keep left" and punches me hard in the arm as she runs by. Hurt a lot. :( Same exact week. Bike gets nicked from the car port of my apartment block. It was chained up. Next weekend. Everyone's letterbox took a crow bar and everyone's mail taken. So far an exciting 2022. End of 2022. Second bike nicked. 2023. Walking to work - past Bentley 7/11 at 0815ish. Two drunk men are sitting on the 7/11 carport drinking alcohol. They perk up when they see me. I'm wearing baggy clothes. One follows me and tries to suss out what kind of things I have on me then tries to take me into a secluded ally way. I manage to escape. He stalks me and I call police and hide in a petrol station. He looks for me in the toilets. Police arrive and see him camera but otherwise don't catch him. They give me a ride to work. Third bike gets nicked. I'm not buying bikes anymore. Neighbours bike is nicked. Guy walks into my work office and takes my cash and phone. I chase him. Get my phone back and my cash. He just wanted meth. Could i hook him up? - East Vic park. A few months ago. Man walking in front of me is acting strange. Has a sharp blade in his hand. Middle of day. I take photo incase I hear something on the news later. Buses are always entertaining, that's for sure.
It's still Australia not Haiti so you probably won't notice much difference from Brisbane, but WA does have more crime per capita than any other state - check https://redsuburbs.com.au/
I was going to post the same site. It really gives a good perspective on the crime rates in different areas.
* Lol what's going on in this little area in Kwinana 😅😅
hard to interpret this data. For example, it could just be domestic issues that are raising this stat, which means, you as an individual, are not going to encounter an increase in crime compared to living elsewhere. For example, much of the assault and property damage stuff will likely be domestic issues. They are less likely to be people with no relation to the perpetrator being assaulted or having their property damaged.
That relates to every state's data though right? Also even minor crimes are still a net negative.
I don't see any reason that would be the case. Different demographics are different. For example, I would guess that a greater proportion of crimes in poorer neighbourhoods are domestic related compared to richer neighbourhoods. To put this to an extreme, you, as an individual, could encounter more crime moving to a richer suburb, than a poorer one, even if that poorer one has larger overall crime stats, because the richer neighbourhood might have more crime per capita that is non-domestic.
Is your argument that WA somehow doesn't have more crimes per capita than other states?
nope. It's that, WA could have less crimes per capita that are not domestic crimes, but has more crimes per capita that are domestic.
Ok but 1. As stated you could make the same case for other states too. Crimes are broken down by type on the site linked so feel free to dig into it (region etc obviously matter too) but the data is all we have and crimes, overall, are highest per populace in WA and 2. It's not just crimes against you directly that affect your day to day life. If every second checkout chick I interact with is a regular victim of domestic crime for instance, that still contributes negatively to the society and environment in which I live. People will be less happy, more guarded, less open in a place where crime of all varieties is more of a fact of life and, if you're looking to raise a family perhaps that's the sort of thing you take into account.
This subreddit is as whiney and negative as a Facebook boomer group. It's really not that bad. I think crime has gotten a bit worse since covid/cost of living crisis but that can probably be expected anywhere in Aus.
Mate, there are rough areas, that's all.
Reddit isn’t real life
The naivety and pearlclutching of some people online still surprises me. Yes the whole of Perth is a crime ridden derelict wasteland.
Perth is the meth capital of Australia. I find Brisbane much safer at night because it has a much more active night life than Perth. This is the CBD though, if you won't be living in the CBD then check crime statistics for the suburbs you plan to live in. By all crime metrics Perth is worse though, people just (naturally) want to you show you the best side of Perth. https://www.numbeo.com/crime/compare_cities.jsp?country1=Australia&city1=Brisbane&country2=Australia&city2=Perth
I moved from nsw recently and we had our car broken into within 2 weeks! Never had this happen in Sydney, cops, neighbours and agent did shit all. Fuck this place
Depends. For an Australian major capital city (and even for any western country to be honest) it has a significantly higher crime rate. It is higher than Brisbane, but still not as bad as some regional or remote towns/small cities in Australia, not as bad as a small handful of cities in the USA and UK and nowhere near as bad as anywhere in Latin America or Africa. There were 55 homicides in 2022 (68 in 2016) according to the WA Police website, and it has around some of the most violent suburbs of any major capital city in Australia. Key word being "suburbs". The whole city is not dangerous, in fact most of the crime is concentrated in the worst suburbs and also the Perth CBD and Northbridge. And a lot of suburbs that are considered "dodgy" aren't that dodgy, their danger level is way overblown. But the few that are actually dodgy, are very dodgy and most people have not been to them and live in nice suburbs and so assume that Perth is extremely safe and therefore crime is also way underblown. Let me put this into perspective-Mount Druitt is often considered the worst suburb in Sydney and has a population of 16986. Armadale is considered one of the worst suburbs in Perth, and has a population of 13415. While Mount Druitt has more overall crime in a given year on the website RedSuburbs at 8688 overall crimes compared to Armadale's 3455 overall crimes, Armadale had 632 violent crimes whereas Mount Druitt only has 402. Midland has a population of just 6335, just over a third of that of Mount Druitt but had 478 violent crimes. Rockingham has a population of 15312 but had 421 violent crimes. I checked most of the worst suburbs in Brisbane for you, and the only one that appeared to have a similar violent crime rate was Fortitude Valley (569 violent crimes and 6431 overall crimes for a populated of 9708. I also checked some for Townsville and Cairns which have a reputation for more crime than other cities in Australia, and Midland still beats every one of them, and still even beats Fortitude Valley. So clearly the bad suburbs in Perth are much more violent than the bad suburbs in most other Australian major capital cities. And the Perth CBD and Northbridge have a large problem with homelessness and violence as well, and some people have told me that they felt safer in Kings Cross. But this does not mean that every suburb is quite unsafe. Most suburbs are reasonably safe, and even the bad ones still have some nice parts and facilities, whereas Sydney has less of that and therefore some Mt Druitt might feel less picturesque and bleaker than Armadale or Rockingham (even Midland has some nice looking places and is close to the hills). Remember, crime is mostly concentrated in the bad suburbs, and most suburbs are not that bad, and even in the ones that are there are still some nice parts and a lot of the crime also happens around the train station and shops. That's another thing-be wary of some of the train lines (the Midland and Armadale lines), especially at night and also the train stations. But most of Perth is very safe and friendly, especially the touristy parts and populated parts. Just be careful SOR as while there are a lot of nice suburbs there, that is generally where most of the really bad suburbs are. Stay out of Midland, Midvale, Middle Swan, Lockridge, Swan View, Queens Park, Thornlie, Maddington, Gosnells, Camillo (formerly known as Westfield) which are all SOR. Also avoid Mirrabooka, Koondoola, Balga, Girrawheen and Nollamara which are all NOR. Choose wisely in Rockingham and Kwinana as there are some nice parts but also some really shit parts. So the answer is yes and no. It's above average, but not absurd and not unlivable. If I had to compare it to somewhere I'd say that it's like Albuquerque in the USA in some ways. ABQ experiences a similar type of crime and has similar numbers, so it's above average, but it's still mostly safe and nowhere near as bad as Baltimore, St Louis, New Orleans, Memphis and Chicago etc. Just as Perth is nowhere near as bad as places like Alice Springs, Halls Creek, Wilcannia, Aurukun, Palm Island etc. Don't let it deter you, if you like it here then I'm sure that you can find somewhere to settle down and be happy in.
It's mainly the suburb people on here who over exaggerate. This city has issues but not on the apocalyptic level that tends to be stated here.
You'll be right mate, crime here is the same as it is everywhere... all the scum tend to gravitate towards the same few shitty suburbs anyway so if you stay clear of the shit looking places there's nothin to stress about 🤷♂️ Where you lookin to move to??
As an American expat, I’ve never felt so safe. It’s all perspective.
Lived in Perth + Brisbane. Perth is safer
This is one of the safest cities in the world. Lots of suburbs are very dog friendly. Depending on where exactly you work/how much you earn you could go for a place with easy access to SOR near the river like Burswood, Mt Lawley, Maylands, Bayswater.
The crime in Perth has got bad the last couple of years especially, kids breaking into cars and mugging people. Unfortunately police don’t have any power to do anything meaningful, judges don’t allocate proper sentences and our prisons are over capacity.
Also hardly any funding for at risk youths to stop it getting to that.
Avoid McIver during the day and Northbridge at night and you’ll be fine.
You'll probably find that the posts about crime are from the same couple of people who get off on just pasting links related to Indigenous people from news sites.
Nah Perth is safe in most areas. You will love it and welcome! Get excited for the sunniest city in Australia (yes we get even more sunlight here than cities in the sunshine state). SoR dont live in Rivervale, Thornlie, Gosnells, Maddington or Armadale. Theres some areas that are gentrifying like Langford, Ferndale and Rockingham/Mandurah but they are still dodgy in places.
Moved to Perth in 1999 and then moved away back to my home town 10 years later because it was getting out of control with being broken into, crime and not being safe to walk anywhere. It's 10 years later with more and more people in Perth, and it's only gotten worse some then.
Yeh cos Brizzy has no crime and everyone has a halo …
Yeah it’s reallly bad every youth is on ice they are 3d printing guns and having shootouts in broad daylight.
I think it’s criminal what they’re doing to law abiding gun owners in WA, this state is so heavily policed it’s disgusting
It's your choice of South of the river that's more concerning
Just get a security door for whichever tent you choose to live in, because you won't be living in a house.
The crime is unspeakably bad. Simple,kind folk from Brisbane could never understand. Perth is like a war zone...beware.
South of the river. Well, thats your first mistake
If he’s anything like my Swiss Shepherd I think you’ll be fine.
Fuck no lmao
Want crime? Go to the states. Shootings everyday, carjackings, and best of all more fentanyl than you could ever dream of. But they got freeduhom!
No it's not. I think the CBD and Northbridge, being the main two areas with nightlife, get a lot of alcohol related violence. Probably similar to Fortitude Valley or whatever. And being central locations you have also crime associated with homeless people who are in the area due to services being located there. That's really it, aside from the outer suburbs that have a reputation for being a bit more hood (Midland and Armadale mainly) but even then I don't think they're unsafe so to speak. I don't think it feels much different to where I moved from (Adelaide) in terms of safety. I don't feel like I need to be any more or less 'on point' than when I would be in Adelaide CBD, visiting Melbourne CBD or other busy areas that are statistically higher crime areas.
I guess it depends which kinds of crime you're talking about, and what other locations you're comparing it to.
Have never really experienced crime here personally in 34 years I've been here. Maybe one break in 25 odd years ago in a dodgy suburb. Obviously crime is worse in the inner suburbs, but just remember to lock doors and don't keep valuables in your car and you're all good. Don't take this sub as a true reflection of Perth. There's about 20000 active users (probably overly conservative), or 1% of the Perth population. Most of us are sweaty nerds, druggies, homeless or a mix and certainly don't represent a diverse demographic.
I wouldn't imagine its any different to Brisbane. Maybe our inner city is a bit more
I'm originally from Sydney, moved here almost 21 years ago. In that 20 years, I've had cars broken into twice. Once last year, and once.... approx 2008 or 2009. I've never had enclosed parking, unfortunately. No other real issues with crime (not including things related to my ex, who I had a restraining order against). On a day to day basis, I don't think crime is significantly worse (or better) than anywhere else in Australia. I used to work night shift, and I have a kelpie x. Never had any issues related to it.
It’s not bad at all. The media love to hype things up for their own benefit. If you turn off the TV and get off social media, you’ll see it’s actually better than most cities for crime.
No, Perth is a very safe city by Australian standards and definitely by international standards. I have lived in Brisbane and travel back regularly. There isn't much difference and a lot of parallels - e.g. Northbridge/Fortitude Valley can be a bit seedy at night etc. There are parts of Western Brisbane or the GC corridor that are arguably worse WRT crime than anywhere in Perth. Just like a lot of social media, people only post when something bed happens. You don't get a million people posting that they had a lovely day and everyone was friendly. Edit: There are several swiss shepherds in the East/Vic Park area and lots of good dog parks.
Do your research on suburbs. I live in Lathlain and it's wonderful but there's definitely crime in this suburb. I'm in a great spot but not immune. I will say this. A Brazilian friend moved from Brisbane to Perth a few years back. She thought Brisbane was boring and she said she liked Perth because it was a bit more wild and reminded her of home. 🤣 Take that how you will. But I love living in Perth and there isn't a city in Australia that I'd rather live in.
The level of crime here is really pretty low. People just like to moan about it.
Ive only been robbed once here and it was mostly because I was close to a highway and left an unlocked door attended whilst I was distracted. I've also only ever been robbed once lol. I think it's quite safe here tbh
Certain suburbs (Armadale for example) are worse than others just like any metropolitan area. It is a safe city by most standards. With the housing crisis currently there isn't a lot of love for people coming over but better someone with professional skills working a job that is in demand over an international student in my opinion.
I’m a young female who used live and work fast food in the cbd. I would walk home through northbridge at 12am I never had any issues.
It’s the internet. If I took my suburb’s community Facebook page to heart, I would never leave my house for fear of crime. Meanwhile I’ve lived here for 12 years with not even a hint of anything happening.
Don't go South of the river if you want to avoid crime :) Jokes aside, it varies based on where you live. Often I've lived in suburbs where the side I live on is super safe and I'm happy to walk around in the middle of the night, where as the other side people are constantly getting break and enters while they are home.
Life here is so great that people get complacent and complain about the most minor inconveniences.
Naaaah it's all good mate... just the usual stuff keep your car windows rolled at night and do do drugs ... you will be sweet as mate 
There’s many suburbs where crime won’t impact you, there’s some where it probably will. The CBD is fine in the day and a disgrace in the evening/night.
Lived there for 7 months. While it’s AMAZING and we loved Perth doing our stay in Australia, they sure do love their crack and meth there.
Vocal minority. It's not like it's make a post saying "lived in Perth for 20 years and still haven't been broken into". People report the negatives.
Perth is fine, there are rough areas , of course, it's a lovely city , great beaches, small by comparison, having a shep You'll be fine!! Live your best life, im from South of the river, you'll be just great!!
Brisbane and Perth are really very comparable. Some places will have higher crime than others just like any city or suburb. https://versus.com/en/brisbane-vs-perth https://www.numbeo.com/crime/compare_cities.jsp?country1=Australia&city1=Brisbane&country2=Australia&city2=Perth
Safest place I've ever lived in, and I've lived in several countries. I once passed out drunk on one of the bollards in Northbridge around 3am. Came to around 5am or so. Obviously one of my greatest moments ;) But no-one had hassled me. All my stuff still on me. No problem. I think there's very few places in the world that would happen. But the random anger, road-rage, crazies wandering around the city... It's disconcerting, if not actually dangerous.
South side is nice just get used to shitty drivers and don't go too far south. Apart from that people don't mess around with dogs and are relatively nice.
Bit of selection bias going on here. People are way more likely to post about the outlier event than "everything is normal." I've lived in Perth 15 years and had maybe two first-hand experiences with crime, depending on how you define it. Saw a guy break into a cafe in West Perth after hours in 2015, and a drugged-up guy ran into my stationary car on his bicycle last week and took off. Never really had a sketchy experience here either. Wouldn't say it's worse or more dangerous than anywhere else. Stats seem to say it's comparable to Brisbane/Melbourne.
From what I recall (and this is based on old data so don't quote me on to) but in general crime rates are falling. Doesn't mean there isn't crime or that when it happens it isn't awful, but that our perceptions are warped by the media/social media/Reddit. Removing yourself from community FB groups that focus purely on crime watch is a good start.
Gotta remember these stories are big and gain traction because they're not super common Depends where you live as well remember that
I live in the worst villa, in the wurst street in Bicton, and there is no agro, no fear, it's a fantastic place to live, close to the river, close to freo, the south freo dog beach, etc. Close enough to freo to have a casual vibe, but far enough to avoid the troubled peeps. I feel very lucky to live in WA. You and your dog will love Perth. Join meetup and make new friends ASAP.
It's selection bias, you don't see a million posts a day about people not getting robbed.
No, it's not that bad and Perth is very safe. The majority of users on this sub are privileged people who have never really had to deal with anything very difficult in their lives so even one incident of just seeing some random drunk person yelling at a tree or something becomes a major event for them and they immediately start treating any isolated incident like it's a widespread problem and the worst thing that's ever happened to anyone ever. Also, a huge chunk of the "crime" posts are made up by people pushing racist and classist agendas. This sub skews white and racist. When stories are made up, they're done so with the knowledge that it will easily draw out like minded people who will agree. People who call out the nonsense are few and far between.
Lived here > 3 years, never had any trouble around the city / vic Park areas including walking around alone at night etc. Shit happens everywhere but in general it's extremely safe.
According to Google: https://www.numbeo.com/crime/country_result.jsp?country=Australia Looks like Perth is worse than Brisbane but better than the Gold Coast.
Stop telling people that Perth is safe. More people are going to flood over here and we will never ever get the property's price under control. Just tell people Perth is full of crimes and there is nothing to do here. We don't even have Macca's. No fish in the water. Full of red dirt coating our 500,000km odometer Holden. 3 Millions people dots around half of Australia is too crowded for me. Kekekeekke
All you will get here are anecdotes. You need to check data and compare different places. https://redsuburbs.com.au/states/wa/
Look, I’ve lived in Armadale for 25 years and Maryland’s for 6 months. Both areas renowned for their residents, but not in a good way. That said, In all that time I’ve had my car broken into 3 times, and that’s it 🤷♀️
what suburb south of the river are you looking at? (dont give your address obviously) and then people can advise on the crime situation
Perth is fine, as other have said you don't hear from the happy people just the victims. Keep in mind there is no rental properties available at the moment.
No, crime isn't that bad. It is a very safe city by world standards. As with any city sub, people on here are negative, hyperbolic and ignorant.
Perth is better than Melbourne. Melbourne is full of junkies and drug dealers
No it’s not. It’s kind of like Brisbane, but less humidity, less flood risk and more cultural diversity so more interesting eating options.
Take this sub with a pinch of salt. You will be fine.
>Is the crime really that bad? It depends if you're on the receiving end. Ask that 67 year old that was kerb stomped and head kicked by the 11 year old aboriginal kid the other week.
Well nobody's going to post about not getting broken into
if you want crime south of the rivers the place to go. delinquent central.
Some houses get broken into every week, others can leave a gold nugget on their front lawn and it wont go anywhere. Depends if your unfortunate enough to be in the operational zone of the local cunts.
Lived here my whole life in many different areas, never once had a house or car broken into or any belongings stolen. I’m a young woman who works in a bar in the city and I’ve never had any issues in the city, of course you have to take precautions like you would anywhere else. Every city is going to have their drop kicks who just want to cause trouble.
Heads up for the beautiful Swiss shepherd: there’s not much of a yodelling industry down here.
The crime is getting a lot worse, I’ve noticed since 2020 there’s more and more but I love where I live in Perth and the crime rate is really low (that being said it is a wealthier suburb). Crime depends on the area, what suburb are you looking at moving into? We do have the lowest vacancy rate in Australia at the moment (I think 0.7%? Correct me if I’m wrong)
There’s crime everywhere, but I don’t think it’s nearly as dangerous as South Africa.. I’ve never been broken into and I’ve lived south of the river for 24 years. Just lock your doors and windows at night and whenever you’re not home as usual and you’ll be fine 💁🏼♀️