By Kevin Airs and Freddy Pawle For Daily Mail Australia
06:39 16 May 2023, updated 08:12 16 May 2023
- Vigilantes have ordered youth off the street after 10pm
- They will ‘discipline’ any youths found breaking curfew
- Threat follows angry mob surrounding homes last week
A menacing warning of a ‘community-enforced curfew’ has threatened to ‘discipline’ youths found on a town’s streets after 10pm in an escalating vigilante crackdown.
Locals in Mackay, central Queensland, are threatening to take the law into their own hands after claiming police were failing to act against alleged criminals in the town.
It follows an angry mob of 100 residents – led by One Nation-backed kickboxer Torin O’Brien – gathering outside the homes of youths allegedly involved in a crime wave in Rockhampton, 400km south.
Now anonymous signs have been posted up around Mackay warning of the vigilante curfew – and calling on local fathers to join them to police the ‘unpunished’ crimes.
Unlawful entry crimes have more than doubled year on year with 108 incidents in the area between January and April this year compared to just 50 the year before.
‘Due to the large number of unpunished break ins and car thefts we would like to advise a one week notice period to all parents of the Northern Beaches area,’ the ‘community announcement’ says.
‘As of the 22/05/2023 there shall be a community enforced curfew for all youths. From 10pm till daylight, Mon-Sun any youths caught walking the streets shall be disciplined.
‘I urge all parents to share this announcement with your family and friends.
‘Any fathers that are ready to stand up for your community please get involved, watch over your street and look out for your neighbours and protect those unable to do so.’
Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting Torin O’Brien is connected with the curfew notice in Mackay.
The chilling threats have been met by a warning against locals meting out their own form of justice, with police telling they will be monitoring the situation.
Two people were arrested for trespassing after the vigilante gathering in Central Park in North Rockhampton on May 7 when the crowd surrounded three homes and banged on windows and doors.
‘I 100 per cent understand people are frustrated and they’re angry,’ Detective Inspector Luke Peachey said later.
‘I’m a resident here too, I’ve lived here for 25 years now – it disgusts me some of the behaviour going on now with our property offences.
‘But the last thing we can have is untrained people going around and trying to take matters into their own hands.’
Insp Peachey said that at one stage, four people jumped into the backyard of one home.
‘Already we’ve charged two of those people with trespass, so the messaging out there is ‘Leave it up to police’,’ he said.
‘By all means have your peaceful protests, but if you’re detected committing an offence, then you will be charged.’
The last protest only ended after more than a dozen police officers with dogs turned up in a fleet of police vehicles and threatened the mob with a move on notice.
Insp Peachey said he understood the community’s frustration, but said the vigilante threats would not ease tensions.
‘We’ve got a designated property team working 24/7 trying to detect these offences and trying to bring them before custody,’ he said.
‘The last thing we need to do is be taking resources away from them to go and investigate good people who have become angry and started committing offences.’
On Friday, local Indigenous communities met at Rockhampton’s Central Park to highlight their fears that their children may be wrongly targeted by the vigilantes.
‘We have concerns about our children, there has been mistaken identity across our country for a lot of years and there has even been deaths,’ Darumbal man Trent White told the Courier-Mail.
‘Our kids, that aren’t out there committing crime, are caught in the crossfire of kids and even adults who are.’