Comment: We have a right to feel safe in our homes

Gangs of juveniles who terrorise neighbourhoods and repeatedly breach bail need to be locked up and shown that our laws and courts are tough, writes Kylie Lang.

Break-ins and car thefts are spiralling as neighbourhoods are terrorised by thugs, many of them children. It’s a disgrace but hardly a surprise.

The Palaszczuk Government has made hollow promises to crack down on youth crime, and supposedly strengthened the Youth Justice Act 1992 in April after mounting community pressure.

But laws that are not enforced only encourage crime because consequences are nil.

Where are the GPS trackers on the ankles of 16- and 17-year-olds out on bail?

Why are repeat offenders released at all?

We’ve seen too many examples of where being young is no determinant of the level of violence meted out on innocent families.

Speaking this week after a break-in at the home of Wallabies legend Toutai Kefu, Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers said Queenslanders had a right to feel safe in their homes.

Copy that.

Mr Leavers said bail was a “privilege not a right” and laws should be toughened to stop repeat juvenile offenders being released into the community.

“If the courts are unwilling to do this, we need to legislate it,” he said.

Arrests result in wrist slaps, and officers are coming up against the same kids over and over again, writes Kylie Lang.

Opposition Police spokesman Dale Last also called for breach of bail to be an offence and said “not a single GPS tracker has been fitted on a young offender”.

But Annastacia Palaszczuk said she wouldn’t be swayed – or should that be “bullied”?

She said the government had been “criticised” for the act amendments being “too tough”, but “hopefully, the magistrates will definitely take into account those new laws and keep the troubled people off the streets”.

Yes, well, that’s not happening, and crossing fingers and toes won’t make it so.

It is also painfully inadequate for Youth Justice Minister Leanne Linard to say the April reforms “are still in the early stages of implementation”.

Magistrates were given greater powers nearly four months ago. Are they slow learners?

Police are understandably frustrated. Arrests result in wrist slaps, and officers are coming up against the same kids over and over again.

Make no mistake. These are not children hopping over their back fences and randomly being naughty.

They are in experienced, mobile gangs targeting suburbs in which they would never otherwise set foot.

I live in one of the hotspots, as identified by figures published in The Courier-Mail this week which show break-ins are up by 14 per cent and car thefts by 23 per cent across Brisbane.

A kid in handcuffs. Please view these along with other

Community Facebook pages regularly post incidents from devastated and/or frightened residents who’ve become victims of brazen teens.

These kids don’t care. They look squarely into the lenses of security cameras and flip the bird.

They know the authorities won’t touch them.

On Christmas morning last year, one young family near me was left shattered after teens car-jacked their four-wheel-drive.

The father had been loading up the boot with presents when he ducked inside to grab more gifts.

He had his infant son with him, so when the thieves pulled knives, he let them take the car and everything in it.

Just last week another neighbour said she was always relieved to see our house lights on at night when her husband was away for work. Her 2-metre fence has been scaled on more than one occasion.

Why should people have to live in fear, lying awake listening for intruders?

Clearly, the parents of these offenders have much to answer for, but with many lost cases themselves, it falls to our leaders to step up.

When Assistant Police Commissioner Cheryl Scanlon visited Cairns in April, days before amendments to the Youth Justice Act were approved, she said the time for talk was over.

“We don’t need to research this stuff any further … this is really about ‘the doing’ and about everybody with the same purpose to be focused on this group of young people to make a change.”

Months later, we’re still waiting for meaningful action.

Sorry, Premier, being “hopeful” just doesn’t cut it.

Kylie Lang is associate editor of the courier-mail

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