Trashing taxpayer houses: the cost of vandalism as youth resi-care crisis explodes on Gold Coast

Teenagers have trashed their luxury taxpayer-funded Gold Coast home, forcing it to be shut down for tens of thousands of dollars of repairs.

TEENAGERS in resi-care have trashed their luxury taxpayer-funded Gold Coast home, forcing it to be closed down while it undergoes repairs costing tens of thousands of dollars.

Photographs show a garage door of an Oxenford property was wrecked, fences torn apart and walls smashed as angry kids punched holes through the plaster.

A Bulletin investigation in February warned about the crisis in residential care by revealing taxpayers were being slugged $27,000 a week for a child – one troubled Coast teenager cost $1.4 million annually – by profit-hungry agencies which staff the houses.

YOUTH CRIME LEAVING BUSINESS OWNERS AT THEIR WITS END

The front fence of a home at Oxenford on the Gold Coast which was vandalised. It is used for juvenile care.

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New police call-out data confirms the trouble at the homes is not just limited to vandalism, with kids going missing and neighbours concerned about violence and noise.

In Upper Coomera alone, police made 244 call-outs to these new suburban homes in 2018. At Pimpama, there were 100 visits, much higher than at Logan.

The crisis has worsened this year and in the first four months police had 212 call-outs to two residential homes at Oxenford – one of them was the property trashed.

Theodore MP Mark Boothman, who obtained the data after complaints to him by neighbours, told the Bulletin: “One has been closed down because of the commotion. It caused tradies to be called to fix the property. Most rooms had holes in the walls.”

‘FOR GOD’S SAKE, FIX YOUTH HOMELESSNESS’

A garage door wrecked at a Gold Coast home at Oxenford used for juvenile care.

“They (the youths) removed the front door. They smashed the side of the fence. It would go into the many tens of thousands of dollars to repair.

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“Are these kids getting the appropriate attention and are the staff getting the adequate protection because they had the training to deal with it?”

In a response to Mr Boothman, Police Minister Mark Ryan confirmed the call-outs were to juvenile care houses funded through the Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women.

“QPS advise that the calls for service cover a range of police actions, including responding to calls for community service, welfare checks, and transport or traffic related incidents to name a few,” Mr Ryan said.

TEENS AND ELDERLY FIGURE IN COAST’S GROWING HOMELESS

The garage at a vandalised home on the Gold Coast at Oxenford used for juvenile care.

Mr Boothman said police who were under pressure to deal with a crime wave in the suburb had spoken to him about the unnecessary drain on resources and time.

“Residents have called me with their concerns. The police are frustrated by the call-outs for service. They have to find these kids who leave the homes,” he said.

Child Safety Minister Di Farmer wrote back to Mr Boothman after he contacted her office on behalf of Oxenford residents.

Ms Farmer said the children in residential care facilities “have come from the most traumatised background and display the most challenging behaviours as a consequence”.

The residential service provider, HOPE Support Services, had undertaken several engagement strategies to support neighbours including taking residents to lunch and providing telephone contacts.

COAST TEEN UNDER CHILD SAFETY FOR 14 YEARS

Theodore MP Mark Boothman has written on behalf of residents.

“I am told regular discussions have occurred between the service provider of this property and Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women officers to ensure strategies and behavioural management plans are in place for the young residents,” Ms Farmer wrote.

Privacy laws prevented Ms Farmer from disclosing specific information but she indicated “appropriate action” had been taken to address the concerns of residents.

To address some of the issues, the Government recently made it a requirement that all residential care workers to either hold or were working towards obtaining a relevant qualification and complete new foundations training, Ms Farmer said.

Since July 2018, the department had been running a pilot program with QPS and residential service providers to improve responses and reduce preventable QPS call-outs in six residential care locations.