Max Futcher on home security plans and Qld youth crime fears

Queensland’s youth crime crisis continues to leave homeowners unsettled - this is the terrifying reason why. JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Toutai Kefu speaking to media following a home invasion. Picture: Tara Croser

Are you sleeping well? I’m not, and while I could blame caffeine and alcohol, I know the real reason.

I’m haunted by grainy security videos, played out nightly on the news, or posted on community Facebook pages.

The videos feature skinny, spectral figures in baseball caps and masks creeping across someone’s living room, through their hallways, into their bedrooms. The comments by the householders follow a common theme.

“We didn’t hear a thing. They were in the house and the whole time we were asleep. The first we knew about it, they were driving off in our car.”

Max Futcher. Picture: AAP Image/Josh Woning

So, I don’t sleep very well. I drift off at first, but around midnight I’ll wake up. Was that a noise inside the house? Did I hear a thud, or did I dream it? I listen closely.

Sometimes I’ll get up and do a lap of the house, before returning to bed, and eventually drifting off.

Sometime in the early morning, I’ll wake again to the dog next door barking at something. It’s likely just a possum, but my mind has fantastic ideas at that dark hour.

I know you can easily buy lock-picking tools online. In fact, the kits even come with a transparent padlock so young crooks can perfect their art, swiftly and silently. Amazon sells them for $13.59.

Knowing this, I installed security cameras around the house. There’s one on the front door which floods the yard with light if it detects movement.

Then there’s another camera in the foyer, with another blinding light, and a police siren that will wake the whole house up.

If this happens, I have a cricket bat under my bed. My plan is to grab the bat and run to the top of the stairs, putting myself between the intruders and my family.

Beyond this, I haven’t a clue what will happen. I am certainly not a violent person, but to protect my wife and young daughters, I’ll do what I have to.

“It’s a really difficult situation,” Assistant Commissioner George Marchesini says.

I spoke to him recently, talking about his role as the head of the Youth Crime Taskforce.

“You’re making decisions in split seconds. Obviously, you have the right to defend yourself, particularly if you’re in fear for your life or serious injury.

Assistant Commissioner George Marchesini. Picture: Evan Morgan

“However, quite often confrontations, we know don’t end well,” he says, and thoughts immediately go to the horrors experienced by Toutai Kefu’s family, or the Lovell family in North Lakes.

So, what is the answer? I can’t simply allow intruders to waltz through the house unchallenged.

“Look, I can’t imagine,” Marchesini says.

“We see the worst result which ends in death, so it’s a very difficult situation for members of the public to be in and I understand their concerns.

“Every situation needs to be judged on its own merits. What I can say, the public do have the right to defend themselves if they are in fear for their life or serious injury.

“If you have family members in the home, there’s obviously concerns there, particularly if you’ve got children in the home. It’s a really difficult situation to navigate through when it’s happening in real time,” Marchesini says.

It’s unnerving that I’ve had to resort to some kind of security plan, but I know I’m not alone. Drive down your street and count how many homes have security cameras.

We’re all pondering and planning how to prevent a break-in. We’re upgrading deadlocks. We’re installing security gates. We’re all preparing for that day when some young, armed thugs randomly choose our house.

I’ve heard some people say they’ll put their car keys at the front door with a $50 note to save the crooks the trouble of coming deeper into the house. Would that be enough? What if it’s not the car they’re after?

Max Futcher is a presenter for 7News Queensland

Originally published as Max Futcher on home security plans and Qld youth crime fears