Community frustration about youth crime has reached boiling point in the north of the state where police are dealing with a prolific group of recidivist offenders.
Key points:
- About 150 Townsville residents have gathered at a rally against youth crime at the North Queensland city’s stadium
- Inside Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and cabinet ministers met with Townsville residents who requested community cabinet meetings
- At the rally, attendees called on the state government to legislate tougher penalties for young offenders
Despite more than 30 extra police and the rollout of a $10 million engine immobiliser trial this year, groups of young repeat offenders continue to break into homes and steal cars.
With less than a year to go until the Queensland election, crime is emerging as an issue statewide.
In Townsville, fed-up residents took their concerns to the state powerbrokers, rallying outside a community cabinet forum.
Among the protesters was Karl Boevink, bound to a wheelchair after his motorbike was hit by an allegedly stolen ute carrying teenagers on Tuesday night.
Speaking from a wheelchair with several fractures in his legs, including his fibula and tibia, he told protesters that juvenile criminals have no care for the community.
“They don’t care. They are laughing at us. Laughing at our governance,” he said.
“I am very grateful to the people who stopped on the side of the road.
“That is the Australian spirit, that is community, we are supporting each other.”
Retired man Jeff Carpenter lives in Kelso, a suburb of Townsville, and six weeks ago he had a break-in at his home.
He attended the rally, calling for harsher penalties for youth offenders.
Mr Carpenter said a teenage boy tried to steal his car and became stuck in his carport. When he confronted him, the boy reversed the vehicle over him.
“We thought ‘Oh well, he has given up.’ So we raced out and grabbed the door open. He managed to free the car from where it was jammed. Drove forward and drove back and reversed over me, ” Mr Carpenter said.
Mr Carpenter said he suffered lacerations to his legs and has been unable to sleep properly at night since the break-in.
“I still wake up and have nightmares,” he said.
Janet Collyer said she had a break-in at her old house at Wulguru.
“It was pretty awful. Wake up in the middle of the night. Doors open everywhere. Wallet is gone, phone is gone,” Ms Collyer said.
“Every time I see an open [cupboard] door in the house I freeze.”
Townsville has been struggling to combat youth crime in recent years.
In 2022, nearly 1,000 juvenile offenders were arrested during the police Operation Uniform Cygnus targeting repeat offenders and growing rates of property crime.
Data from Queensland Police shows Townsville’s crime rate is significantly higher than the state average.
In August this year, assault was 2.44 times higher, robbery was 2.36 times higher, unlawful entry with intent 3.56 times higher, arson 2.3 times higher, and selling and supplying drugs 6.62 times higher than the state average.
Thousands of teens arrested
At a press conference before the anti-crime rally, Minister for Youth Justice Di Farmer described recent youth offending as very distressing, horrific, and appalling.
“It’s why we are absolutely determined to have the right measures in place to deter crime,” she said.
“In Queensland, we have the harshest laws in the country and we actually have more young people in detention than any other state or territory aside from the Northern Territory. So our laws are working.”
The minister said she had met with the rally organiser previously and the government welcomed any input from the community on youth justice.
“There is no one single fix to reduce crime and we need to make sure that every single thing we do is evidence-based,” she said.
At the same press conference, Queensland Police revealed a targeted operation had resulted in the arrest of more than 2,700 children since March.
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Operation Victor Unison has officers conducting additional patrols in known crime hotspots.
In Townsville alone, 412 young people have been arrested on 524 charges as part of the operation.
Acting Commissioner Tracy Linford said a fly-in squad of 30 police officers in Operation Guardian would be posted to Townsville in November.
It will be the third time the task force has visited the city since it was created in August this year.
During the rally at the Townsville Stadium, protesters called on Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to step out of community cabinet to attend.
The crowd of 150 gave Member for Thuringowa Aaron Harper a sour reception. He was the only member of the Palaszczuk government to attend the rally.
He called for the community to make submissions to a bipartisan Youth Justice Reform select committee before they closed in early 2024.