Yarrabah youth crime: Community unites to tackle rising offending rates

A Far North community is under siege by a relentless kid crime wave and is adding its voice to the region’s plea for an end to a cycle of hopelessness. What it’s asking for.

THE Indigenous community of Yarrabah is under siege by a relentless kid crime wave and is adding its voice to the Far North’s plea for an end to a cycle of hopelessness.

Yarrabah Mayor Ross Andrews was joined by community organisations and service providers in a show of force to call on the state government for funds to better assist the community manage shameful youth crime rates powered by five per cent of their kids.

If funding was granted, Cr Andrews planned to invest in on-country programs, work with other community-based service organisations and introduce a family responsibility commission to teach financial literacy and counselling, assist in debt recovery and wellbeing.

“I think there’s enough service providers out there in the community to engage our youths, we just need to work hard in trying to integrate kids,” Cr Andrews said.

“(Community members) are frustrated and really disappointed,” he said.

Cr Andrews noted how successful the PCYC programs had been in helping engage children just weeks after the Queensland government cut funding for the PCYC Indigenous Community Sport and Recreation Program.

“It’s integral for state government to continue with investment with our community and work hard with our kids … it’s important to invest in solution-based programs,” he said.

Limited resources have forced the tight-knit community into a corner as existing organisations struggle with the level of demand for their work.

Ailsa Lively, CEO at Gindaja Treatment and Healing Indigenous Corp, said her organisation employed one youth bail support officer with only two others in the Far North region in Cairns and the Tablelands.

She is hoping state funding would support a team of three officers in her community.

“One officer isn’t enough … we can’t keep up with assisting every one of them,” she said.

Ms Lively attributed offences to social issues such as overcrowding in homes, lack of education and the absence of “normal health services” — all issues which she said were on the agenda for the Yarrabah Leaders Forum.

“When you have children living in a home which three families with people up to 20, they don’t have their own space, they can’t do their homework, these are all contributing factors,” she said.

Members of the community told of feeling unsafe and wanting change with one fed-up resident on Wednesday telling the Cairns Post they were frustrated after having their car stolen and home broken into earlier this week.

Gurriny Yealamucka chief executive Suzanne Andrews said “enough is enough”.

“The main concern is young people getting into anti-social behaviour, it’s like any community in the area we’re all dealing with the same issue,” she said.

“Kids that have been locked up are back in the community reoffending over and over; let’s look at alternative solutions.

“For me it seems to be these kids are crying out for support and help and this is how they’re acting out.”

Yarrabah is echoing the same frustrations and outrage of Cairns and the greater Far North which is grappling with the youth crime epidemic.

A petition organised by Whitfield resident and crime victim Perri Conti calling for reform was rejected by Minister for Children and Youth Justice Leanne Linard last week. The minister will meet with Ms Conti sometime next week after the rejection caused an outcry.

The community’s plea also comes after an amendment bill was brought to Queensland parliament on Tuesday night to discuss changing the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 years of age. The bill was knocked down with the overwhelming number of MPs sympathetic to communities like the Far North experiencing enormous youth crime offences.

Ms Linard’s office was contacted for comment regarding Yarrabah’s plea.

Originally published as Yarrabah youth crime: Community unites to tackle rising offending rates