Westfield Garden City youth crime targeted by new police operation
Police have launched an urgent operation targeting youth crime at a popular Brisbane shopping centre, it can be revealed, amid an explosion of robberies, assaults and thefts. SEE THE VIDEO
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Chroming, brawls, muggings and petty thefts: welcome to Westfield Garden City.
The Southern Star can reveal Upper Mount Gravatt Police, in conjunction with TransLink and centre managers Scentre Group, have launched an urgent operation aiming to curb the popular Upper Mount Gravatt shopping precinct’s spiralling youth crime crisis.
It comes amid a series of increasingly violent crimes committed within the centre and the adjoining bus interchange, which has become a focal point of antisocial behaviour.
Last Thursday, a 13-year-old Rochedale boy was robbed of his mobile by two youths, a 15-year-old Woodridge boy and an 11-year-old Raceview boy.
And in late May, a 13-year-old Wishart State School student had his nose broken during an attempted theft of his phone about 7.45am on a Tuesday morning as he was waiting for his school bus at the Garden City interchange.
On that occasion, an 11-year-old Marsden boy and 13-year-old Waterford West boy were charged with attempted robbery in company with personal violence and assault occasioning bodily harm in company.
It comes just days after the revelation of a shocking video depicting students from Cavendish Road, Holland Park and Mansfield state high schools bashing a 13-year-old girl in an alleyway near Westfield Garden City.
Meanwhile, the existence of an Instagram page glorifying violence inside the shopping centre and its surrounding alleyways, especially an area immediately abutting the Pacific Motorway sound barriers, can also be revealed.
In one shocking video, about half a dozen youths, including some wearing their school uniform, can be seen engaged in a violent free-for-all brawl within the centre itself.
Upper Mount Gravatt Police Station Officer in Charge Senior Sergeant Murray Crone told the Southern Star police launched Operation Tango Homeland in mid-June to “deter crime and anti-social behaviour resulting from groups of youths that habitually congregate and loiter in public spaces, transport hubs, and shopping precincts”.
A known hotspot, Snr Sgt Crone said, is the Garden City bus interchange, “a location which is known to attract an above average number of juveniles during school holiday periods”.
Last week, a Mobile Police Beat was deployed at the interchange to monitor the situation, and it will return next week as part of police’s ongoing “disruption strategy”.
“Since the commencement of the operation, Upper Mount Gravatt Police have conducted numerous Street Checks and issued multiple move-on directions, and dealt with a wide range of offences including robbery, stealing, and assault by young persons, (in order) to enhance community safety,” Snr Sgt Crone said.
“Police have also detected an increased number of youths ‘sleeping rough’ in abandoned buildings in the division and have taken steps to move them on, reunite them with their families or caregivers, and find suitable alternative accommodation.”
Snr Sgt Crone told the Southern Star particular hot spots near Garden City for youths sleeping rough were underneath Palmdale Shopping Centre, on the other side of Logan Rd, and an abandoned house at Wadley St, Macgregor which is in the process of being demolished.
He said “like-minded youths” were attracted to Garden City due to its connectedness to the entire southeast courtesy the bus interchange.
“Kids will travel – we see kids here from Logan, the Gold Coast, Ipswich and north Brisbane,” Snr Sgt Crone said.
While drugs such as cannabis or ice didn’t feature in juvenile crime in and around Garden City, Snr Sgt Crone said, he did note the inhalation of aerosols – chroming – was a persistent issue.
Snr Sgt Crone stressed that Garden City wasn’t the only target of Operation Tango Homeland.
The intersection of Mains Rd and McCullough St at Sunnybank, featuring three shopping centres – Sunny Park, Sunnybank and Market Square – was also a known hotspot for juvenile crime, he said.
In one recent example from that end of Upper Mount Gravatt’s division, a pair of homeless teens stole a tent from Kmart Sunnybank, set it up in a nearby park, and used that as a base to conduct shoplifting raids on all three centres.
Snr Sgt Crone said a key plank of Operation Tango Homeland linking up with support organisations, not-for-profits, businesses, and State Government services to help divert juveniles from offending.
“(We) are currently involved in a number of youth diversion programs in partnership with the State Government and local business aimed at mentoring and encouraging youths to develop skills to make positive connections with the community and divert them from offending pathways,” he said.
One such program, the eight-week ‘Strength and Shine’ course, allows juvenile participants the opportunity to overturn orders banning them from the centre and even gain employment within.
He praised Westfield Garden City and TransLink’s contribution to the operation.
Garden City centre manager Nhan Nguyen told the Southern Star the “safety and security of our customers, retail partners and employees remains our highest priority”.
He noted the centre independently conducted multiple programs to help divert high-risk youths.
“As an example, we host regular ‘Safe Space’ events, where young people can feel safe and comfortable to play basketball with Queensland Police, enjoy a meal, live music, participate in resilience-building workshops with youth workers and even explore career opportunities with our retail partners and other community groups,” Mr Nguyen said.
“Through the program, we’ve engaged hundreds of local youth and will continue to host these throughout the year.”
TransLink said they had contributed teams of Senior Network Officers (SNOs) to help clamp down on youth crime at the bus interchange.
“SNOs have conducted recent patrols at the Westfield Garden City busway station alongside Queensland Police Service Rail Squad Officers to provide an increased presence at the station and educate public transport users about appropriate behaviour at public transport stations and on services,” a representative said.
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