Senior police officer slams failure of FNQ parents as figures reveal juvenile crime issues

New figures reveal the Far North is in the grip of a youth crime wave but how does the region rate compared with Brisbane and Townsville?

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A SENIOR Cairns police officer has slammed a “systematic failure” by parents as new figures reveal the Far North having the highest number of youth offences in the state.

Break-ins and other property offences including car thefts continue to skyrocket in the region, with local youths topping the state for assaults.

More than 12,500 offences were committed by juveniles in the Far North during 2018 according to the figures released by police, with the next worst district being North Brisbane which recorded almost 11,890 offences.

The Far North’s offence total is almost double that of Townsville district and almost 4000 higher than the Gold Coast.

Cairns police Sen-Sgt Duane Amos, who is helping spearhead a current police operation targeting juvenile and itinerant crime in the Cairns CBD, pushed the blame for the high rates onto the parents of the offenders.

Cairns police Sen-Sgt Duane Amos is in charge of an operation targeting juvenile and itinerant crime in the Cairns CBD. Picture: Zak Simmonds

“There is a systematic failure with parents and their responsibility to provide their kids with education and knowing where they are at all times,” he said.

“We welcome kids into the city, it’s an enjoyable place to come, but we expect parents to be there and for (children) to be home at a reasonable time.

“It’s not appropriate that young children are in town trying to catch a bus at 2am.”

Almost 250 youths have undergone police street checks in the opening four weeks of the crime blitz and 33 of them have been driven home by police officers.

Sen-Sgt Amos highlighted the case of a 13-year-old Edmonton boy who has been charged with more than 50 property offences in the past two years as an example of ongoing issues with serious recidivist juvenile offenders.

Cairns Property Crime Squad Det Sgt Dan Bramham said they continued to see predominantly teenagers and young adults involved in property crime across the city.

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He said their ongoing modus operandi involved using stolen cars to reach every part of the city and reissued a warning to residents to “lock it or lose it”.

“You can see it on social media all the time where residents post videos of CCTV where offenders are walking along the street and testing every car (to see if they’re unlocked) along the way,” he said.

“(Stealing cars) is a means of transport to commit further offending.”

Juvenile crime

2018 Offences

Far North: 12,688

North Brisbane: 11,888

South Brisbane: 11,290

Gold Coast: 8888

Townsville: 6738

Originally published as Senior police officer slams failure of FNQ parents as figures reveal juvenile crime issues