Victim of 17 break-ins: ‘start punishing bad behaviour’

A woman in a regional NSW town has had multiple cars stolen, lights vandalised and even a pet killed by local criminals. Now, she’s demanding harsher penalties for young offenders.

A resident of Kempsey who has suffered 17 break-ins and had countless cars stolen from her property has urged the state government to “start punishing bad behaviour” and overhaul the system for treating young offenders.

Marilyn Figgett, 75, has been told by local police she most likely holds the unwanted record of being the most targeted victim of home invasions in NSW.

The Daily Telegraph met Ms Figgett during a recent trip to both Kempsey and South West Rocks, on the NSW Mid North Coast, where this masthead heard harrowing stories of home invasions, car thefts and small businesses being looted.

“I’ve had all sorts of trauma. People have kicked the door in. Another one broke in and put a torch in my face while I was lying in bed” Ms Figgett told The Daily Telegraph.

“It doesn’t matter what I do, nothing works. I’ve had cameras stolen. My lights were covered with paint so they didn’t work. I had a dog and they bashed it to death.”

Marilyn Figgett has been broken in to 17 times over the years and has had 20 different cars stolen from her house. South West Rocks has been experiencing an unprecedented level of youth crime with multiple break ins and car thefts. Picture: Richard Dobson

Ms Figgett believed she had been a “walking target” for local criminals due to being “profoundly deaf” and “hears one word in 36.”

She has given up on any desire to own a nice car: “there is no such thing as insurance when you’ve had than 20 cars stolen. We used to have reasonable cars… but then we just had to buy junk… $2,000 cars from the side of the road just so we had transport.”

The aged pensioner, who has lived in the Kempsey area for her entire life, came to the attention of locals in June after one of her stolen cars was discovered by police.

Ms Figgett was advised she would be charged a storage fee of $17 plus GST for every day she didn’t collect the vehicle. With the assistance of Michael Kemp, the state MP for Oxley, nearby business owners towed her car and arranged a free wash and service.

“The people in this community, the decent people, are really decent people” Ms Figgett said. “They all banded together and said enough is enough… what can we do to help you?”

While Marilyn said she had “decided not to live in fear” and “wouldn’t want to live anywhere else”, she claimed the justice system around repeat youth offenders had to change.

Mr Kemp, whose electorate includes Kempsey added: “youth crime is driven by a lack of consequences. The law needs to support taxpayers and make us feel safe in our own homes. Diversionary funding must be tied to actual outcomes” Mr Kemp said.

Marilyn Figgett at her home in Kempsey. Picture: Richard Dobson

At last month’s parliamentary inquiry into regional crime, local Kempsey police warned there were “children who are 10, 11 and 12 years old involved” in criminal activity. If you’ve continued, and you’ve taken all your points out of the Young Offenders Act, and you no longer qualify—and the seriousness of the crime—then you need to be punished, and you need to be punished through the courts” Superintendent Shane Cribb stated.

Ms Figgett said “every time something happens - someone says, it’s the kids and they’re bored. It’s time to start punishing bad behaviour. Make them pay for some of the things they steal.”

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