Mum forced to watch from work as thieves break into her home while her family slept

A Queensland mum checked her nanny cam, set up to nab kids taking chocolate from the fridge. She was horrified to see something much more sinister.

A mother has shared her horror after checking her security camera while at work, only to see thieves break into her home as her family slept.

Night shift nurse Jessica was on her break about 1:30am when she received a notification from her home security app that there was movement at her front door.

The cameras spotted three young people trying to break into her house in Hervey Bay, north of the Sunshine Coast.

Seeing the shocking footage on her phone while at work, Jessica was quick to alert her husband, Nathan to the intruders.

A mother was left to watch in horror as thieves broke into her home as her family slept while at work. Homeowners Jessica and Nathan. Picture: A Current Affair/ Nine

“So I’ve rung my husband and said to him there’s three people at the house, it looks like they’re trying to break in. Get up, and check the kids,” she told A Current Affair.

The intruders soon made their way inside of the house, with Jessica spotting them in the kitchen from another camera.

“We actually originally set up the camera inside the house because one of the kids was stealing my chocolate all the time, and none of them would own up to it,” she said.

“So we put the camera in the house, facing toward the kitchen to see which one of the kids was taking the chocolate out of the fridge.”

Nathan soon went to confront the intruders downstairs, making as much noise as possible in order to “scare them off”.

“Sorts chased ‘em down the street a little bit to see if I could catch one, but when I came back up from the street I noticed my garage door was wide open,” he said.

The pair later discovered that Nathan’s wallet and keys were missing. Nathan called the police and Jessica came home as quickly as she could.

Cameras near the kitchen picked up the thieves, with police still searching for those responsible. Picture: A Current Affair/ Nine

And while they have changed the locks in their house and access to their cars, the family still live in fear of the thieves returning.

“We put the cameras up only a few months ago, just in case, just as a deterrent, never thought we’d have to use them,” Nathan said.

“We thought we had done all the things we needed to do, to keep us safe, to keep our children safe and it still wasn’t enough,” Jessica said.

“They’re not just stealing possessions, they’re stealing parts of peoples lives … like they’ve stolen our safety. You can’t get that back.”

The pair are advising others to not be complacent and be vigilant of home invasion, as Queensland’s youth crime crisis continues.

Queensland’s battle with youth crime

Queensland continues to fight against the rising numbers of youth crime across the state.

In December 2023, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) recorded that the number of young criminals in Queensland had increased by 6 per cent to 10,878 offenders.

The number of juvenile Serious Repeat Offenders in the state increased from 465 in December 2022 to 482.

Queensland is plagued by an ongoing youth crime crisis. Picture: Glen Campbell/NCA NewsWire

Accounting for population growth, the rates of youth crime offender rate increased from 1863 offenders per 100,000 people to 1925 within the same time period.

According to the ABS, the most common juvenile crime were violent offences – or acts that intended to cause injury (23 per cent).

The second most common offence was theft.

Data released by Queensland police revealed that in 2023, juveniles were responsible for 10,382 illegal entry offences, 7332 illegal use of a motor vehicle, 4348 assault offences, 1437 robbery and eight murder offences.

Originally published as Mum forced to watch from work as thieves break into her home while her family slept