Youth crime in an age of Covid

Located in the geographic heart of NSW, 450km west of Sydney, Condobolin is an enterprising town with a big problem to solve that defies a simple answer. For most Australian communities, the problems at Condobolin are difficult to imagine, but they are not unique and if Condobolin can get things right it can set an example for others.

The Weekend Australian has spent weeks exploring how a rural town enjoying an economic boom from agriculture, mining and investment has lost social cohesion. Greg Bearup and Liam Mendes report on Saturday that youth crime has run off the rails in what was until recently a well-functioning rural community. It is untenable that residents no longer feel safe at night because some local young people are running out of control. Some locals believe the problem is an extension of the Covid-19 crisis that broke the routine of schooling and supervision. Once the stability and routine of schooling were removed from the lives of young people because of lockdowns and school closures, it has proved difficult to re-establish. Youth workers describe groups that have “dropped off the radar” to become a “lost generation of kids”.

While true that most of the young offenders are Aboriginal, it is too easy to dismiss Condobolin’s problems as the product of racial divide. Both black and white residents have described being terrorised by youths who break into homes at night to ransack belongings and steal keys to cars that they take for joy rides and sometimes set alight. In signs of a subculture that is familiar from other remote areas, offenders film their activities and post the evidence online on TikTok. One elderly resident says she has been so traumatised by her experience she has abandoned her home in Condobolin in favour of nursing-home care 100km away in Parkes. Local police have been busy arresting principal offenders who have been charged in recent weeks for crimes such as assault, break and enter, and car theft. The children have been released on bail and are awaiting sentence.

Condobolin residents are poorly served by not having a 24-hour police presence in the town. Tough policing undoubtedly is a critical part of the immediate response, but it is unlikely to be the full solution. Many of the young people involved have relatives and carers who have spent their lives in and out of jail. Local police say they support diversionary programs that could steer these kids away from the justice system, but their immediate priority must be to deal with crime and keep the community safe.

The citizens of Condobolin are desperate for answers. More than 150 people attended a community meeting called by the town’s Chamber of Commerce. In an ideal world, the obvious solution is to ensure that, in a profitable town with a shortage of workers, Indigenous youth have the same opportunity as everyone to get a job. But for this to happen they need to get back to school.

For delinquents, there are good examples such as the BackTrack program in Armidale that can help turn things around. The Wiradjuri Condobolin Corporation has facilities for a similar program but needs assistance and the right leader to build a program for the 13, 14, 15 and 16-year-olds who are getting into trouble in town.

Condobolin needs an intervention of practical support to help put things right. The terrorised residents deserve a peaceful life and a good night’s sleep. Having lost the anchor of education through the disruptions of Covid, the children involved deserve another chance to thrive.