Pimpama group aims to make citizens arrests if they catch offenders robbing houses

IN the face of increasing crime rates, these northern Gold Coast residents are taking matters into their own hands by creating a ‘crime response team’ to apprehend alleged criminals in citizen’s arrests.

FED-UP Pimpama residents say they want to take back their community from the clutches of criminals by setting up a “crime response team’’ to make citizen’s arrests.

But don’t call them vigilantes.

The group, calling itself the Pimpama Civilian Response Team and comprising about 20 locals, says it will patrol the area at night to deter criminals and make a citizen’s arrest of anyone caught doing the wrong thing.

However they insist residents’ first point of contact for help must always be the police.

A Queensland Police spokesman warned the QPS did not condone any vigilante action and said people should avoid taking action that risked safety.

Photo of Kyal Bones who is heading up the group. Photo by Richard Gosling

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Pimpama local Kyal Bones, who set up the group, said a Facebook community page for the suburb had been flooded by comments from residents concerned about crime in the area. People were saying they felt increasingly unsafe in their own homes.

“Home is the one place you should feel safe,” he said.

“We’re just a community that decided to step up and do something. We’re not trying to be above the law, we’re trying to establish trust in the community (because) we’re under attack from groups that are taking people’s stuff.”

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The Queensland Police Service crime data map shows the suburb — the third-fastest growing area in Australia — has had a spike in crime rates in the past two months.

More than 150 incidents were recorded in May, and 130 in June. Last year, just 76 incidents were recorded in May and 90 in June.

Pimpama residents are fed-up with rising crime in the area. Photo by Richard Gosling

Compared to five years ago, recorded incidents in the area have more than doubled, with more than 1000 crimes recorded in 2017 compared to about 400 in 2012.

Most incidents relate to theft, drug offences, traffic offences and unlawful entry.

Mr Bones said he had tried to have the issue raised in Parliament and through other means, but it had fallen on deaf ears.

He said it did not help that the local police station at Coomera was only open working hours Monday to Friday.

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The 28-year-old carpet layer said the group was “in no way at all’’ vigilantes, adding he had conducted research of the neighbourhood and attempted to engage with authorities, including local police and councillors.

He said the “crime response team’’ was taking the idea seriously because of potential legal ramifications if a citizen’s arrest went wrong.

“There’s a very fine line between a community watchdog group and vigilantes,” he said.

“We don’t want to do that. Always the first point of contact is police.

“We really envisage to disrupt crime, so opportunistic criminals look at Pimpama and go: ‘Too hard, there’s a community group working to arrest me and wait for police to show up’.

“We’ve looked at the Criminal Code … (citizens) can arrest only if (offenders are) committing an offence at the time.”

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Pimpama residents could message the Pimpama Civilian Response Team page if a crime was occurring. The closest team members would then be contacted and sent to the area immediately to determine what was happening.

Teresa Bradford was murdered by her estranged husband in Pimpama, 2017. Pic Jono Searle.

Mr Bones said they could be there in less than 10 minutes to help capture an offender and wait for police to show up.

He said safety was paramount and members would not engage with an armed criminal “unless they felt comfortable’’ doing so.

Criminologist Terry Goldsworthy said the community initiative of patrolling the neighbourhood was already being used in indigenous communities with great success, but had not been applied to suburbia.

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“It is quite successful and the community has a sense of ownership,” he said.

He said it was unlikely the group would deter crime, but it could potentially disrupt criminals and allow police faster response times.

Coomera MP Michael Crandon confirmed his office had received correspondence from the group.

He said it was too early to say whether he welcomed the initiative, but he was willing to talk to the group.

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Mr Crandon said other community groups were helping deter crime through youth education.

A Queensland Police spokesman said: “The Queensland Police Service recommends that anyone who witnesses a crime taking place should immediately ring triple-0 and make a report, instead of taking matters into their own hands.

“It would be in very limited circumstances where someone would be arrested or detained by a non-police officer. In these circumstances police should be contacted immediately.

“Police do not encourage people to put themselves into a position where they are risking their own safety. The QPS does not condone any type of vigilante action, and people who use unreasonable force will be investigated by police.”