Seven stolen cars set on fire across Townsville since Tuesday
At least seven stolen cars have been completely destroyed by fire at the hands of young thieves this week, after two more were found burnt out on Saturday morning.
Townsville
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AT LEAST seven stolen cars have been completely destroyed by fire at the hands of young thieves this week, after two more were found burnt out on Saturday morning.
A stolen Toyota Aurion and Toyota Camry were gutted by fire about 6.30am on Saturday in the carpark of the Salvation Army.
It brings the total of reported stolen car arsons to seven since Wednesday.
Police said they were called to the two fires at Condon after residents raised the alarm and tried to battle the blaze with garden hoses.
Opposition spokesman for Police Dale Last said the families of these young criminals needed to be held to account.
“If you truly care about these offenders, or our community, you will play your part in putting an end to this madness before one of the offenders or an innocent member of our community is killed or seriously injured,” Mr Last said.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, three stolen cars were torched within less than an hour.
A Subaru was then found burnt out at the intersection of Murray and Victoria St, North Ward, at 4.55am, and then a stolen blue MG was found on fire on Seventeenth St, Railway Estate, at about 5.20am.
On Friday morning, a stolen Toyota Camry was set on fire in Mitchell St, just metres from other cars, a set of units and overhanging trees.
Another car was also set on fire at Mount Louisa the same morning.
According to police data, there have been 618 offences of car theft reported since January in the Townsville District, and 94 offences in July.
Mr Last said the car owners were the real victims.
“These offenders have added yet another activity that puts innocent people at risk and increases the work for our emergency services in response to Labor’s failure to address crime in Townsville, and throughout the state.
“What that means is that the financial cost to victims and to the taxpayer is increasing exponentially, as is the cost from a mental health point of view.”
The Department on Youth Justice said it has a suite of measures in place to address youth crime.
“Queensland’s serious repeat offender index is unique to the state and is an internal measure used by the Department to target the intensity of interventions. The index fluctuates as young people move in and out of the cohort on the basis of recent offending data,” a spokesman said.
“The government has taken community concerns regarding recidivist young offenders seriously by holding young offenders to account with tough new bail laws and investing in targeted initiatives to break the cycle of offending.”
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Originally published as Seven stolen cars set on fire across Townsville since Tuesday
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