Hundreds gather at anti-crime rally

Vehicles passing through the busy Garbutt intersection of Dalrymple Rd and Woolcock St, beeped their horns in support of residents waving signs carrying messages like, “Restore law and order”, “Make Townsville safe”, “Justice for victims,” “My car matters”, and “Denial is the worst crime”.

Holding up a sign saying “Let’s bust the crims”, Currajong crime victim Inet Edwards said two of her vehicles had been stolen over the past five years.

“It was my birthday and I woke up to the sound of my Ford getting stolen,” Ms Edwards said.

“They smashed the locks, got in and stole money and the car keys. I confronted one of them in the garage as he was going through my husband’s car and they just laughed at me and took off.

“I’ve got it back, it wasn’t burned, but we had a lot of damage done to it that we had to get fixed.”

Sick of having her house “treated like Kmart”, and having to worry about barrel bolts, dead locks, ordinary locks, and screamer alarms on all of her doors, Ms Edwards wanted to see a dormitory/ boarding school arrangement created for children living in unsafe home environments.

“Where the kids can go where it’s a safe place from an early age and have tutors and mentors, trainers,” she said.

“If a kid’s done something wrong, then give them the consequences for their actions, not just take them for a free drive back to their parents.”

Mount Louisa resident Christine Velvin was devastated when her van and trailer, loaded with goods to be sold at the Sunday markets, was stolen early on Mother’s Day.

She had unlocked her door to let the cat out while she brushed her teeth and got ready for work, when her keys were stolen from the bench.

“The van and the trailer rolled (on Shaw Rd), everything was completely mixed, trashed, broken,” Ms Velvin said.

“The culprit got out of the van, rang an ambulance and said he’d been hit by a stolen car. They might be really dumb but they’re smart.

“He’s never been in custody. (The police) know he’s done it, but they can’t marry him to the vehicle. I’ve actually got a video of him at the house before mine.”

She demanded that the juvenile criminals be “culpable for what they do”.

“We can only try. I don’t think there’s going to be any outcome from this (rally), but I’m here because it’s different when it happens to you,” she said.

“These are kids that are going down the wrong track, they need some sort of training, even if it’s in an army situation or given a trade or something,

“They need to learn that you go to work and you get paid. You don’t take off others.”

Accusing the state government of failing to fix youth crime, Rally organiser and former-Katter’s Australian Party candidate Clynton Hawks thanked the attendees “who stood up, because they are fed up”.

“Who would have thought in Townsville in 2023, that we’d be fearing for our lives and the lives of our families inside our own homes?” Mr Hawks asked.

“It is disgusting. It is time that we reverse the fear back onto the criminal, so they fear entering a person’s home because after all, that’s the natural way it’s supposed to be.

“We have all seen the reoffending rate reach 95 per cent at the Cleveland Bay holiday camp, as well as record numbers of stolen cars in our city.”

He praised the “bloody good job” done by Queensland Police Officers, saying they caught the same criminals week after week.

“The adult revolving door of the Townsville courthouse has to end by cleaning up the broken Youth Justice Act, unshackling the judiciary by removing detention as a last resort, and mandatory 12 month minimum sentencing ending the endless slaps on the wrist for these repeat offenders with a rap sheet a mile bloody long,” he said.

With 1400 vehicles stolen and 4500 homes broken into over the past year, Queensland Burdekin MP and Shadow Minister for Police and Corrective Services Dale Last described Townsville as being at the epicentre of Queensland’s youth crime problem.

“Our pleas to the government to do something about it have fallen on deaf ears and their solution has been to throw more money at this problem,” Mr Last said.

“You have a right to question where is that money going and what is it achieving, because if you have a look at the crime rates, they’re still going through the roof.

“When you’ve got youth offenders chasing police vehicles in this city, and these grubs throwing rocks and pavers at police, you know you’ve got a problem. It is completely out of control.”

KAP Deputy Leader and Hinchinbrook MP Nick Dametto said he was visiting up to three victims of crime per day in Townsville’s northern suburbs.

“This is getting worse. It is not getting better. The Youth Justice Act has been changed twice and amended twice this term with very little differences,” Mr Dametto said.

“Those kids don’t give a s— about the laws that have just been changed.

“You’ve got to change the laws in such a way, or change the way detention is prescribed in such a way where these kids don’t want to go to Cleveland Bay Detention Centre or they don’t want to be picked up by the police tonight because they’re scared of the repercussions.”

Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill said council had been playing its part in tackling the crime problem, assisting police with over 500 security cameras and putting anti-vehicle boulders around the city’s parks.

“We need mandatory sentencing … have these kids behind bars for at least 12 months, these kids who are constantly offending, to be able to deal with them,” Cr Hill said.

“You need to have relocation sentencing because some of these kids just don’t understand what real work and responsibility is all about.

“The families are encouraging these kids and we’ve really got to do something about parental responsibility.”

Government responds to anti-crime rally

Townsville MP Scott Stewart said no amount of crime was acceptable, and it was understandable that people were angry.

“This government will always work hard to tackle this complex issue. We now have the toughest youth crime laws in the country and will continue to hold people that do the wrong thing to account as the community rightly expects,” Mr Stewart said.

“It’s important we continue to invest in early intervention programs like Project Booyah and Townsville Street University to tackle the root causes of youth crime.

“This week’s budget is helping tackle youth crime by investing in new initiatives like the Johnathan Thurston Academy as well as reinvigorating PCYCs.”

He said free kindy and the expanded school breakfast program were important investments to keep people in education, showing that the government was always looking for new ways to address youth crime.

Thuringowa MP Aaron Harper said he facilitated a meeting with the rally organiser and Youth Justice Minister Di Farmer earlier this month.

“I understand why people are angry because no amount of crime is acceptable. I will continue to work with the community including council to tackle this complex issue,” Mr Harper said.

“This government will always work hard to tackle this issue, including introducing new laws targeting repeat juvenile offenders which the LNP voted for.

“This includes a real breach of bail offence, courts must consider community safety during sentencing and they can declare someone a serious repeat offender giving them more sentencing options.”

He expected the courts to meet community expectations when it came to sentencing.

“People that do the wrong thing should be held to account as the community rightly expects,” he said.

“I have advocated strongly for early intervention programs like the Townsville Street University which was funded in the budget, as well Project Booyah which there has been great success from.”

The state government has provided $446.4 million in government funding over five years to support community safety, tackle the complex causes of youth crime and help boost police resources.

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