“LOCKING up the scum and throwing away the key” is not the solution to the Gold Coast's recent spike in violent crime, according to a leading Gold Coast criminologist.

As the Gold Coast struggles to retain it's “famous for fun” identity while a a chain of armed robberies dominate the headlines, residents would be for- given for wanting a band-aid solution to the problem, but Associate Professor in Criminology at Bond University Dr Wayne Petherick warns there is no one solution.

“We can ignore the problem and just keep locking people up or we can look at what's causing this,” Dr Petherick said.

“Until we dig down into the base reasons as to why these crimes happen we're really flailing in the dark.”

See our interactive map showing recent robberies on the Tweed and southern Gold Coast

Economic hardship, drug addiction and the party atmosphere of the famed glitter strip seem to be the obvious symptoms of the problem, but are just the tip of the iceberg.

“Most motives for crime are multi-determined,” Dr Petherick said.

“In some cases financial hardship might be enough to push people, but then you look behind that and there's a range of possible personality dysfunctions and anti-social tendencies.”

Dr Petherick said high-profile crimes such as the recent shooting of Detective Senior Constable Damian Leeding, should inspire criminals to lie low.

However the tragedy has done nothing to stop violent crime, with armed robberies continuing across the coast in the weeks after.

“Immediately following a public shooting we have a number of armed hold-ups,” Dr Petherick said.

“This is a time people should be deterred from committing these offences.

“That sort of smacks of desperation.”

The kind of desperation running in the veins of a drug addict looking for a fix.

“To a drugged offender, a quick fix might overweigh the risk of being caught,” Dr Petherick said.

“The physical effects of withdrawal override their rationality.”

But the symptoms of crime run deeper.

As Dr Petherick explains, psychological causes such as low self-esteem and lack of social guidance as children only aggravate the problem.

“Some people with low self-esteem will not go to uni to get a degree and a great job or even ask for a pay rise in bad economic situations, and instead they turn to crime,” he said.

“Anti-social behaviours are often passed down through generations.

“A lot of parents seem to think social guidance should come from school, but parents need to take responsibility for their children's peers and siblings to make sure they have good role models.

“It can be as easy as asking your kids when they see crime on television, ‘Do you understand why what that man did was wrong?' and discussing it.”

Dr Petherick said as well as inspiring a clear understanding of right and wrong in our children, it is important society stand up and take responsibility for their community.

“We have a large transient population with tourists that bring cash and valuables, which can appear to criminals as easy pickings, so people need to be aware,” Dr Petherick said.

“The police have made a good response with the new targeted task force, but the community needs to take responsibility also.

“Shops trading late at night can move to a secure window system rather than keeping huge front doors open, similar to what you see at some petrol stations.

“Bar managers closing by themselves should have a security guard on duty to deter criminals.

“As a general rule, society wants a quick fix, but there simply isn't one.”

See our interactive map showing recent robberies on the Tweed and southern Gold Coast