Cafe owner Mathew Hollamby joins opposition calls to crack down on youth crime

A frustrated cafe owner has joined opposition calls for a crackdown on youth crime after his business was broken into four times in just two weeks.

Gooby Goose Cafe owner Mathew Hollamby pictured last year. Picture: Russell Millard Photography (file)

A suburban cafe owner has joined calls for action on youth crime and police resourcing, after his business was broken into four times in a two-week period.

New Australian Bureau of Statistics Data reflected a rise in youth crime between 2021-22 and 2022-23, prompting the opposition to again call for better incentives for police officers.

But the government has accused the Liberals of failing to come up with a proposal to address the problem.

Mathew Hollamby, owner of the Gooby Goose cafe at Happy Valley, said crime was “slowly, progressively” getting worse.

He was left $8000 to 10,000 out of pocket after his business was targeted four times last October.

“At that time we were going through an extensive renovation here at the shopping centre and we were temporarily put into a shipping container that was turned into a coffee shop,” he said.

“Each and every time, they found new and destructive ways to get into the shop.”

Mr Hollamby said the same group of young people had been involved in each incident.

“We’ve got to ensure we’re doing more things and (being) proactive, and seeing these kids before they actually start getting into that destructive behaviour,” he said.

Gooby Goose Cafe owner Mathew Hollamby was the target of crime four times in just two weeks. Picture: Russell Millard Photography (file)

The new ABS data, which records crime committed by people aged 10-17, showed significant increases in particular categories – including a 109 per cent jump in abduction and harassment, 59 per cent in public order offences, 49 per cent in robbery/extortion, 42 per cent in sexual assault and related offences, and 26 per cent in weapons/explosives offences.

Opposition leader David Speirs said the overall 12.6 per cent increase in youth crime was “a huge worry and a problem that demands urgent action”.

“We know South Australia is in the grips of a crime crisis and we know that SAPOL does not have enough police officers coming into the force to get on top of this issue,” he said.

Opposition Leader David Speirs said South Australia is in the grips of a crime crisis. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Morgan Sette

“The opposition has heard from many businesses and households who are concerned about crime and it’s critical the Malinauskas Labor Government takes action to boost police resources and improve community safety.”

Opposition legal affairs spokesman Josh Teague again called for a review into penalties for accused offenders who breach their bail.

Treasurer Stephen Mullighan said the government was working to address the problem, and had committed more than $80m to get sworn police officers out of back office roles and onto the front line, and $12m to accelerate police recruitment.

But he said the opposition had not put forward a policy to address youth crime.

“My challenge to the opposition is: what is your proposal?” he said.

“It’s been more than two years now since the last state election and we are yet to have a single policy put forward by David Speirs and his frontbench team.”