In an ABC article today, City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Ian Carpenter says reports that crime is out of control are untrue. Mayor Carpenter met with Geraldton police yesterday and he said that crime statistics do not appear to be on the rise and that criminal activity in Geraldton is the same as in any other community.

"There are probably certain classes of crime which may have increased a bit but in general I'm confident that police are doing an excellent job here in Geraldton," Councillor Carpenter said.

"The statistics I've seen demonstrate to me that our community is probably no different than any other community in Western Australia."

Over the holiday period there was much talk about crime in Geraldton being on the rise with plenty of people voicing their opinions on social media.

A local community group 'Geraldton Residents Demand Our Streets Back' was even created, seeing more than 2,000 people join the Facebook group in a bid against local crime.

Mr Carpenter said people needed to be weary about what they said on social media.

"So if you're going to say these things on social media, then people need to be aware that sometimes what is being said is simply incorrect."

References: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-11/crime-rate-claims-simply-incorrect/5252474