Port Augusta’s ‘DPG’ youth gang lifts the lid on crime in the town as crisis worsens

When night falls at a small Aboriginal community on the outskirts of Port Augusta, dozens of young boys make for the town centre to cure their boredom.

When darkness falls at the Davenport community on the outskirts of Port Augusta, for a group of young Aboriginal boys the night is just beginning.

Rather than retiring home for the night, the self-proclaimed “DPG”, or “Davenport Gangsters”, a group made up of 30 or so youths at any one time, some as young as 11, make for the town centre to try and cure their boredom.

They are among the dozens of kids from a number of different groups on the street in the town after dark on any given night looking for fun – or trouble.

They wander the streets until dawn, breaking into houses and cars and stealing whatever they can get their hands on, including the cars themselves.

“We do it just to get home or if we’re bored we’ll just do it,” said one 15-year-old boy.

The boy, who often walks from his home in town to Davenport after dark to meet up with the group, is one of the children who said the boredom and lack of entertainment is what drives them onto the streets.

Members of the “DPG” or “Davenport Gangsters” youth gang roam the streets of Port Augusta until daybreak breaking into houses and cars to cure their boredom. The Advertiser is not suggesting these boys are members. Picture: Dean Martin

In recent weeks, youth crime has escalated in the town.

SA Police would not provide statistics on the spike in youth crime but several arrests have been made in recent weeks.

On February 7, four teenagers, including a 12-year-old girl from Davenport, were arrested after several incidents were reported to police.

On February 8, a 15-year-old girl was arrested and charged after allegedly assaulting another 15-year-old girl at a swimming centre.

The following day, a second 15-year-old girl was arrested and charged over the incident.

Superintendent Paul Roberts said police were working with community leaders and government and non-government organisations to reduce and prevent crime in Port Augusta.

“People responsible for criminal offending will be investigated and held to account for their actions,” he said.

One boy, barely a teen but already a DPG member, said he had lost count of how many times he had been in trouble with police and broke into houses “for fun”.

During The Advertiser’s visit to Davenport, plain-clothed police officers arrived late on a Thursday night to interview another boy, also 13, over his involvement in a stolen car being driven to Adelaide the week before.

The DPG members gathered out the front of that boy’s home immediately identified the three men as police and made for the safety of the shadows.

A 13-year-old boy was placed on a 9pm curfew after he travelled to Adelaide in a stolen car with other teenagers. The Advertiser is not suggesting he is a DPG member. Picture: Dean Martin

The boy’s mother said her son got in the car after being encouraged by older kids.

“They came out here, told them they was going to go but didn’t tell them that it was a stolen car,” she said.

“They just hopped in and went. I had no sleep.”

The 13-year-old boy told The Advertiser he and the other kids, all under 18, had “just walked around on the streets” in Adelaide after stealing the car until they were picked up by police.

He is one of the many DPG boys on police-mandated curfews which require them home by 9pm every night, but almost all of them are out later.

“It’s always like this,” his father said.

“There’s a lot of boys getting into trouble these days.

“It’s no good letting them run around town.”

However, the 13-year-old boy’s parents said little was being done by police to ensure the kids stuck to their curfews.

“We just drive around looking for them ourselves,” his mum said.

Antisocial behaviour and crime has increased in Port Augusta in recent weeks. Picture: Dean Martin

She also said police were doing little to address spiralling crime within the community.

“Sometimes they just don’t bother coming out,” she said.

But she said when police did intervene, they often used excessive force.

“They get the kids and just slam them down,” she said.

“They get really rough.”

The DPG boys accused police of doing “whatever they want”.

“They pulled his hoodie and choked him and slammed him,” the 15-year-old boy said of an incident involving his brother.

“They was like ‘Why you running?’

“That’s all they said.”

SA Police’s Ethical and Professional Standards Branch said no information regarding excessive force or formal complaints had been received.

Footage emerged on social media in recent weeks of a street brawl in Port Augusta which several community members said DPG members were involved in.

DPG members as young as 11 have had several interactions with police. The Advertiser is not suggesting these boys are DPG members. Picture: Dean Martin

“The police couldn’t do anything,” the 13-year-old Davenport boy’s dad said.

“They just pulled up and watched.”

One community member said as many as seven similar incidents had occurred over one weekend.

Another video, obtained by The Advertiser, shows dozens of youths involved in a violent brawl, with one boy punched and kicked by several others.

Police said they had identified “several people” involved in the incident, which they said was not random.

On March 10, police said 11 people, including nine teenagers, had been arrested over several disturbances in town the week before.

Other videos posted to social media show teenagers captured on CCTV attempting to enter homes after dark.

A second 15-year-old boy, who is a member of the “East Side” or “PTA” gang in town, told The Advertiser he was wandering the streets as late as 3am some nights and stole from the nearby supermarket “every day” because he had no food or money.

Several different groups of youths roam the streets of Port Augusta after dark. Picture: Dean Martin

“If we have money...we don’t steal anything,” he said.

“Most likely we end up stealing something to eat.”

Another teenager said they stayed out in the town centre, which is also occupied by dozens of intoxicated adults on any given night, to “just walk around”.

That boy’s group, not the DPG and made up of kids as young as 13, was seen by The Advertiser vaping and passing cigarettes around.

One member carried a branch taller than himself along the waterfront, while another had a pair of scissors in hand as he walked through the supermarket car park.

Later in the week, some kids from another group who call themselves the “East Side” or “PTA” gang, were seen leaving the shopping centre with an unopened tool kit containing a screwdriver and wire cutters.

The tools were “for fun”, one said.

DPG members told The Advertiser their boredom drives them on to the streets at night. The Advertiser is not suggesting these boys are DPG members. Picture: Dean Martin

Back at Davenport, the 13-year-old boy’s older brother, 16, said more needed to be done to support the kids at the community.

“They got no programs for kids,” he said.

“There’s no activities out here for kids so they mostly get in trouble a lot.

“They mostly listen to older kids in town.”

A Human Services Department spokeswoman said: “We also acknowledge and share concerns about young people involved in high-risk activities”.

“This is not a new challenge and will take time and a whole-of-community and agency response to address,” she said.

“Youth service providers, community leaders and various agencies have already begun the work to develop a youth framework that supports the most vulnerable and at-risk young people.”

The 16-year-old, who has managed to avoid the trouble in town and his community, said he hoped to set an example for his younger brother and the other DPG kids.

“I want to be a role model and try to get them on the right path,” he said.

“It’s a struggle,” he said.