Qld youths take to social media and TikTok to brag about crimes and taunt victims

The resounding first step that Labor or the LNP governments must take to addressing Qld’s youth crime crisis has been revealed.

An attempted robbery. Picture: Supplied

Be it a Labor or LNP government, the first move to fix Queensland’s youth crime crisis should be for juveniles with serious crimes to be treated as adults, according to a Courier-Mail survey.

In wake of shocking new youth crime statistics, a Courier-Mail reader poll asked that should be the Qld government’s first move to fix the crisis, gathering nearly 14,000 votes.

Almost half (44 per cent) responded with youth offenders for serious crimes are treated as adults.

It was followed by mandatory minimum sentences (25 per cent) and parents held criminally responsible for child’s actions (13 per cent).

It comes as many as 13 young criminals a week are being charged with posting and boasting on social media about stealing cars, while other shocking videos reveal teens posing with guns, knives and drugs.

New data provided to the Sunday Mail reveals 348 youths have been slapped with the aggravating charges since new laws were introduced in March 2023.

Thirteen young people were charged in the week ending September 5 alone, and angry victims say the act of posting and boasting about crimes is re-traumatising them.

This comes as a Sunday Mail investigation of Instagram reels and photos posted by three separate accounts over the past five months shows Queensland youths hooning, filming themselves with a shotgun, standing on upturned vehicles and brandishing knives.

The three active accounts identified by the Sunday Mail follow each other and brazenly share similar dangerous and reckless behaviours.

In one video posted in September, two teens appear standing on a upturned vehicle before the clip cuts to a car hooning and doing dangerous burnouts.

In August, the same user posted another video of a white substance being cut up on the screen of a mobile phone while inside a car, before it cuts to more acts of dangerous driving.

Another account posted videos this month of cars hooning with people hanging out the windows and illegal fireworks being set off.

A search of that account reveals dozens more users acting like juvenile criminals among its more than 2500 followers.

One follower brandishes a knife in a video he shared to his own account, while in another he is seen with a group of others surrounding a shotgun.

David Petherick said a youth stole his red Alfa Romeo from his Morningside home last month.

“My car was photographed with a young boy filling up and allegedly stealing petrol from the bowser in Toowoomba a few days after it was stolen,” Mr Petherick said. “My partner’s car was found dumped at a backpackers in Toowoomba two or three days later.”

Young criminals showing off the exploits.

Mr Petherick said his suburb, Morningside, seems to be continuously targeted by young criminals.

“Specifically since we have had our vehicles stolen, we had a pretty serious home invasion about 200 metres down the road,” he said.

In June last year, Angelo Justus was threatened with a shovel and axe as he attempted to leave his Bulimba home in his Audi.

One of the offenders – who shockingly had 96 prior charges – was granted bail.

But even more distressing to Mr Justus was the teen brazenly taking to social media to boast about his release.

“He mocked the authorities; his shameless posts ridiculed not just the police but the entire justice system, and it felt as though he was revelling in our pain, exacerbating the trauma we were already struggling to process,” Mr Justus wrote in an exclusive opinion piece for the Sunday Mail.

“His post felt like a declaration of impunity. How can social media platforms continue to allow such behaviour unchecked? And what motivation remains for law enforcement when offenders are so quickly released and emboldened to ridicule the very system meant to stop them?”

The Queensland Police Service has welcomed the introduction of a stand-alone offence for publishing material on social media depicting crimes where the purpose is to glorify the criminal conduct.

Young criminals showing off the exploits via social media in Queensland. Picture: Instagram

This is in addition to the introduction of an aggravating factor for social media boasting applied to additional offences including dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, assault and burglary.

A QPS spokesman said crimes posted to social media had a lasting impact on victims, with the constant barrage of youth criminal content perpetuating harm and fear.

“This boasting can have an impact on victims, who may be revictimised through the glorification of the offence against them,” the spokesman said. “Locally, officers utilise online activity as part of investigations and will charge offenders under the new legislation when evidence exists of an offence.”

Young criminals are running rampant online.

The spokesman said the QPS’s Digital Intelligence and Community Engagement team continued to successfully target youth offenders’ online activities and those who were seeking notoriety online by “post and boast” or livestreaming their crimes online.

Online instances of boasting could be used in opposing the bail of young offenders before the courts.

“DICE has generated more than 1300 investigative leads through its intelligence efforts since its establishment,” the spokesman said.

Queensland Court Liaison Service senior clinician and psychologist Andre Bates said many young people who were marginalised and isolated used social media to increase their levels of self-esteem and confidence.

She said the targeting of cars often came from a lack of social advantage.

“They have been rejected from the education system, they have had numerous child safety placements, have zero safe attachments to a trusted carer/parent figure, are frequently moved on from public areas, lack positive role models and they come from households of extreme socio-economic disadvantage, hence will never be in a position to save and purchase their own vehicle,” Ms Bates said.

“From personal observations working in the field, most offenders do not view their driving behaviours as risky or problematic, rather they see themselves as experienced drivers, with exceptional handling skills.”

University of Queensland School of Social Science Associate Professor Renee Zahnow said teens were using social media to connect outside their social circle to engage in risky behaviours online. Instead of showing off to their peers in person, they were turning to Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok.

She said the clicks and views provided young criminals with “positive reinforcement”.

Originally published as Qld youths take to social media and TikTok to brag about crimes and taunt victims