Townsville’s struggle with rising youth crime divides community

Frustrated residents of a city in Queensland say they feel “under siege”, as youth crime rates hit a decades-long high.

Townsville is struggling with increasing crime. Source: The Project, Network 10

A convenience store worker who was forced to run for her life while being robbed at knifepoint is one of many locals afraid of rising youth crime in the Queensland city of Townsville.

The woman was working a shift like any other when a young adult came into her store and held her at knifepoint.

“I can’t believe I’m going to die at the back of the shop,” she told The Project host Hamish Macdonald she’d thought at the time.

The woman left her car keys and handbag in the store and abandoned the shop to protect her life. Two months on, she was still at home recovering.

Crime is rising in Townsville. Source: The Project, Network 10

“There’s so much crime happening around the place. People just don’t feel safe anymore,” she said to Macdonald.

“We are under siege. And every resident you talk to will say the same thing. They’re not made accountable. They know they’re untouchable. So they just keep doing what they’re doing.”

The community is divided on how to solve the issue. Source: The Project, Network 10

According to The Project, police recorded more than 43,000 offences committed in Townsville last year — its highest crime rate in more than two decades.

And more than 37,000 locals have joined a Facebook page where videos of teenagers driving stolen cars and breaking into places are played to the masses in the hope they’ll be identified.

Videos of the alleged crimes are posted on Facebook. Source: The Project, Network 10

One restaurant owner who has had his business broken into several times, including by a young person who broke down his door with a rock, told Macdonald locals were prepared to take matters into their own hands.

“People aren’t going to just sit back anymore and take things, you know. They’re gonna start saying like, ‘Hey, the law and the justice system is not going to do anything about that and we’re gonna have to stop it.’”

Macdonald noted that while the videos posted on the social media page clearly showed young people of many races were responsible for the crimes, the racial undertones targeted at Indigenous people were hard to ignore.

Another of the videos. Source: The Project, Network 10

Recidivism is a problem. The Project cited Queensland government figures that showed in the year to March, 2021, 95 per cent of people released from Townsville’s Cleveland Youth Detention Centre were charged with another crime within a year.

Residents and experts were divided on how to fix the issue.

Dr Peter Malouf from the Townsville Aboriginal and Islander Health Service, said many people feel there should be tougher punishments, but the answer was not that simple.

“You can penalise kids, but it’s not going to change their behaviour. If we keep penalising kids, then they’re going to be more likely to end up in our prisons,” he said.