Brazen teens out of control
Police battlefront moves from bikies to juveniles
YOUNG thugs are emerging as the new front for Gold Coast cops in their war on crime.
An armed robbery this week of a Surfers Paradise bottle shop, allegedly perpetrated by two 13year-olds wielding hammers, is the latest in a growing list of violent crimes involving kids.
Police say that with the battle to control bikies all but done and dusted, their concerns have turned to the new wave of juvenile criminals – including elements riding the trains and trams to the Glitter Strip from outside the city.
Sources say the young and the reckless think little is being done by the courts to stop them long term from breaking the law. Many end up on bail and are quickly back on the streets where they continue offending.
“(It’s) extremely concerning considering the age and the level of violence they’ve escalated to quite quickly,’’ Gold Coast Detective Inspector Marc Hogan said.
Following the bottle shop robbery on Wednesday night, two Logan boys were arrested. One was released on bail and the other was held in custody, with both to appear in court at a later date.
Police sources told the Bulletin young criminals were becoming more brazen.
The officers said if they did not get ahead of the problem, teens committing crimes now – including lower end offences – would grow into seasoned adult criminals and “wreak havoc’’ on the Gold Coast over the next decade.
Insp Hogan said the latest incident was of concern and part of a wider social issue.
“Fortunately police were able to jump on it pretty quickly. Those two offenders have been arrested and charged,” he said.
“(It’s a) social problem, it’s not just a policing thing. Obviously there are problems that run pretty deep to have that appearing and it seems to be becoming more common. I know in the last eight days, there have been three similar sorts of offences involving kids aged around 13 and 14.
“It is something, I guess, we need as a society to look at more closely and try to understand what this trend is.
“It’s up to us to do our job and try to get the piece of pie that we have responsibility for in place and see how we go from there.”
Insp Hogan could not say why teens were committing crimes.
“That’s a question when I read those things in the morning. You’ve got to ask yourself that question (what the motivation is) and I’m not sure. I’m not sure why you would do that. It’s every chance that you’re going to be caught and they must know that.”
There was evidence the extension of the light rail to meet rail at Helensvale had increased the number of young people flowing into the Coast. Among those young commuters were kids committing crimes.
The train-in, train-out young crims had been an issue for police since the light rail service began. Police launched the ongoing Operation Luminous to tackle crime relating to rail.