Ascot, Clayfield and Hamilton residents hire private security guards as crime escalates

Residents in Brisbane’s most affluent suburbs are going to extremes to fight an escalating crime spree that has left them fed up and living in fear.

Residents in Brisbane’s affluent suburbs terrified and fed-up with what they say is a growing rate of thefts and violent home invasions have taken the extraordinary step of hiring private security guards to patrol their streets.

The 24/7 Group has been operating as a security company in Brisbane for 30 years but only began guarding neighbourhood groups at the end of last year in response to concerned communities.

The company typically operates at private businesses, hospitals, sporting clubs and schools, but in September, it was first commissioned to serve a group of residents in a leafy inner-north street.

Company director Randall Hughes refused to reveal how many communities had engaged the business’s services but said there were now “several” separate streets and blocks in Ascot, Clayfield and Hamilton employing private guards.

The 24/7 Group’s Stephen Walters and David Inman patrolling Clayfield streets. Picture: Nigel Hallett

The guards patrol the streets in high-vis and a flashlight, remaining in constant communication with local police forces so the “bad guys get the picture and move on”.

“The top-end of town have been subjected to horrific events,” Mr Hughes told The Courier-Mail.

Some small affluent streets operate as one jurisdiction for a guard, while some others have employed security to monitor a grid of four to six streets, according to the company director.

Mr Hughes said the service operates as a “deterrent more than a prevention” to ease the minds of families frequently exposed to concerning crime.

“It’s horrific. It’s terrible. It’s frightening — you wouldn’t want to live like that and these people are just getting sick of it,” he said.

The violent home invasion in August of former Wallaby star Toutai Kefu in the southern Brisbane suburb of Coorparoo compounded the anxieties for many residents in the city’s inner-north following a string of knife-wielding robberies and countless car thefts.

One homeowner in a leafy street of Clayfield, who asked not be identified, said he’s “genuinely worried”.

He told The Courier-Mail up to 20 families had chipped into commission a guard to watch over their street following a growing frustration at the common occurrence of strangers sifting through their house and gardens.

“There’s a huge sense of violation,” the man said, revealing an anxiety about the dangers of homeowners lashing out at burglars or thieves being forced to violently escape a confrontation.

“There is not a week that goes past without a number of offences,” he said.

“One day soon it will end in an act of violence.”

Queensland Police Service said there had been no anecdotal increase in property crime offences in the North Brisbane District but said the strategy was effective.

“The concept has merit as a lawful means to increase personal and property security, as is employed by many gated communities with full-time private security patrols,” a spokesman said.

“Trained security providers generally understand the limitations of their authority and that includes understanding when to escalate a situation to the QPS for advice or assistance.”

Originally published as Ascot, Clayfield and Hamilton residents hire private security guards as crime escalates