Desperate Mareeba crime victims to hold crisis meeting
Elderly Mareeba residents under siege and terrorised in their own homes are being attacked on mobility scooters and driven to early graves by wayward teens as the Premier pledges greater police resources and the speedy enshrining of tough new juvi crime laws.
Cairns
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In his first visit to Cairns as Premier, David Crisafulli has pledged to boost Far North police resources and the speedy enshrining of tough new youth crime laws, as elderly residents under siege at the embattled Tablelands town of Mareeba convene a crime crisis meeting.
Residents of an elderly community over the train tracks from the Mareeba Coles are constantly falling victim to break-ins and vehicle thefts while living in fear of reprisals when speaking out and making police reports.
A crisis town hall meeting has now been convened to address what is being labelled a Mareeba crime “tsunami.”
On Wednesday during his first Cairns visit since the change of government, Premier Crisafulli expressed his gratitude to the people of the Far North for electing three out of four LNP candidates while pledging a reduction in the Queensland Police Service attrition rate, the quick implementation of early intervention programs and more support for crime victims.
During a tour of the Cairns Police Establishment and meetings with frontline staff, Mr Crisafulli and the newly-minted Youth Justice Minister Laura Gerber outlined a plan to deliver on pre-election law and order pledges.
“We are serious about turning around young offenders and turning around kids before they get in the system,” he said.
“But for those who are on the wrong track, adult prime adult time, consequences for actions matter.
“We will be tabling (Making Queensland Safe legislation) in the first sitting (of parliament) and it will then go to committee, and then it’ll come back for debate in that week before Christmas, that is the commitment I gave Queenslanders.”
Mr Crisafulli said Far Northerners would see “brand new early intervention” as part of his government’s first budget.
“It’s important that we turn the tide immediately, and it’s important that Queensland see change,” he said.
It’s change that can’t come quickly enough for Mareeba residents under siege while being terrorised in their own homes by roaming groups of teens.
Assisting to organise Friday’s crime rally Ken Harley said a 70-year-old woman plucked up the courage to distribute a handwritten note, spreading word of the meeting after every window in her house was smashed by wayward teens.
He said stress, fear and constant anxiety was sending residents to early graves and something had to be done.
“They can’t eat, they can’t sleep, one lady is deaf and many are pretty sick and this is too much for them,” he said.
“We must show these people respect and assist them and there will be many people there to tell their stories.
“We have to get something to make their lives more secure.
“They are under siege, why is this not a top priority?”
One elderly man’s car was stolen while he was in hospital and was later crashed into a ditch within the rail corridor before being ravaged by passing teens who smashed every window in the vehicle. He had no insurance.
“I had one friend who was an ex-serviceman, Cook Shire councillor and was of public service all his life, he had been broken into and his car stolen twice, they even stole his blood pressure machine,” he said.
“And he met an early death because of this.”
Cook MP David Kempton said he would be at the meeting to confront a situation he described as a crime “tsunami”.
“I know these people have been around to their houses and they are being terrorised in their own homes, need to act and we need to act quickly and I’ve been talking to the Premier today about what we want to,” he said.
“I’ve already spent time talking to the (Mareeba Shire) Council, to the police and several support groups, but I’ve been up there and witnessed the crime, and it’s almost like a tsunami going through the community, and on a per capita basis, I think it’s probably worse than Cairns.”
The Mareeba crime meeting will be held at the CWA hall on Wilkes St at 10am on Friday.
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Originally published as Desperate Mareeba crime victims to hold crisis meeting
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