Central Qld police charge 178 juveniles after slew of property offences
More than 230 people, mostly juveniles, have been charged with a staggering 600 plus offences related to string of alleged property crime across Central Queensland. SEE THE BODYCAM FOOTAGE
Police & Courts
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It’s only six weeks into the year and already police officers in Central Queensland have charged hundreds of people with more than 600 crimes, following a slew of property offences across the district.
Capricorn Crime Group Detective Acting Inspector Luke Peachey said since January 1 police had charged 231 offenders with 635 offences.
He said 178, or 77 per cent, of those alleged offenders were juveniles, with the remaining 53 of them adults.
Some of the figures included double-ups of repeat offenders.
Det Act Insp Peachey said the figures weren’t just from Rockhampton, but included Gladstone, Longreach, Emerald and Biloela.
Police released body-worn camera footage on Friday of a number of arrests being made across the region in relation to the property crime.
“We want to reassure the public out there that we are putting before the courts a large number of people who are committing these offences, and we will continue to do so,” he said.
“If you are committing offences, you are going to be brought before the courts and charged for the crimes you’ve committed.”
On Thursday night officers continued their crackdown on crime, taking two juveniles into custody and charging them with offences including break and enter and stealing.
While Rockhampton and Yeppoon were the initial hot spots for crime, Det Act Insp Peachey said offenders were now also branching to outlying areas.
Det Act Insp Peachey said the Property Crime team included officers from the Criminal Investigation Branch, Child Protection and Investigation Unit, Tactical Crime and dedicated intelligence officers.
“Every morning we have briefings and we look at who we’re going to target,” he said.
“We’re working really hard, we’ve got dedicated investigators, our uniformed police are out there every night trying to find these people.
“We think it’s a whole community things, so we ask people if you do have information on where a stolen vehicles are or know where these people are that are committing offences, let us know so we can take appropriate action.”
He again urged locals not to try and take matters into their own hands and encouraged people to make their homes a harder target for offenders.
“I know people will come back and say they shouldn’t have to lock their house and car,” he said.
“But seriously, lock your house, lock your car, don’t leave valuables lying around - you’ve just got to make it a harder target.
“Look at cameras, there’s so much CCTV out there now and it’s such a great tool for us, but also make sure you know your neighbours and get to know your neighbourhood.
“If there’s something not right, or people looking around properties they’ll call police right away instead of just posting on Facebook.”
Police Minister Mark Ryan confirmed he’d met with Rockhampton Police when he visited the town during the week to talk about the work they’ve been doing to catch offenders.
“Any instance of crime is totally unacceptable. For every crime there is a victim, and the experience can be extremely traumatising,” he said.
“The government and the Queensland Police Service take community safety extremely seriously. That’s why police in the Rockhampton region relentlessly target those who wish to do harm to the community.
“I speak to police wherever I go, including when I was Rockhampton this week. I spoke to co-responder teams about the work they are doing with at-risk young people and the value of their interactions with these young people.
“Their work is about aiming to disrupt and prevent criminal behaviour. But ultimately, if young people decide to break the law, they will face the consequences, including being arrested and placed in detention.”
Mr Ryan said Rockhampton would see the benefits of the government’s “biggest investment” in policing in more than three decades.
“To support police in their efforts, the government is making the biggest investment in policing in more than three decades, an investment the Police Commissioner has publicly stated will deliver a minimum of 150 extra police officers to each policing region across the state, including the region that includes Rockhampton,” he said.
“Community safety is paramount.”
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