Coast’s youth crime ‘car convention’ on camera
They’re the shock youth crime scenes from the Northern Gold Coast that a senior officers says took his “f***ing breath away” when he first saw them.
As many as nine juvenile with five stolen cars, pulling burnouts in a Helensvale carpark - call caught on CCTV in daylight.
Right next door is a high school, some of the youths in the CCTV don’t even look old enough to attend it. On the same day this footage was captured - Sunday just gone - they had allegedly stormed a family’s home around the corner, armed with knives.
They allegedly took two of the cars pictured and caused more than $100,000 worth of damage including wrecking a corner post of the garage when reversing out. Recounting the traumatising incident, the home owner Marcelo Alcantara said at the time the intruders were only metres from his young daughters, aged two and six, when they broke in.
“It was terrifying. My wife woke up to a loud noise coming from the garage, there were eight people at least, and a few of them holding knives” he said.
“We have been seeing these incidents on the news for a while, but to have it happen to us is very scary. There is no deterrence, and at the same time, they are thugs, they are criminals.”
In the days that have followed the number of victims of youth crime on the Gold Coast has only grown.
Frustrated police officers, commenting on the extraordinary scenes, say youth crime is now an “emergency”.
“We’re fighting an invasion with a f***ing water pistol. We’ve had enough. The community deserve to know this is happening” one told the Bulletin. We know who they are and they are out of control.”
The officer says the same groups of youths are involved in multiple car thefts and break-ins spanning Logan and the Gold Coast and resources can’t keep up.
“In what world can kids feel empowered to steal five cars, drive them to a public place, hoon and commit further offences in a single f***ing day.”
On Tuesday night a group of juveniles allegedly struck at an upmarket estate in Hope Island. Multiple homes were broken into. Three vehicles including two BMWs were reported stolen to police.
Only a few hours after the Hope Island break-ins police sources say they were already tracking a vehicle on the M1 as it headed North. Another car had been found abandoned. Later that afternoon, a police source has told the Bulletin, officers attended a Nerang address as part of their investigations.
It’s alleged a juvenile at the property had a set of keys in their pocket which belonged to a vehicle that had been reported stolen earlier in the day.
The juvenile rampage comes as new analysis by Bulletin sister publication The Courier Mail published earlier this week showed offences across a range of crimes committed by juveniles have skyrocketed. Stolen car offences committed by young people have spiralled from less than 2000 in 2015 to well over 7000 in 2023. Unlawful entry offences have more than doubled. Robberies are also up, with stats showing there were 417 offences committed by young criminals in 2015 – climbing to 1437 last year.
LNP Opposition Leader and Gold Coast MP David Crisafulli has vowed to overturn amendments made to the Youth Justice Act by Labor, if his party is elected in October. He said removing prinicples such as detention as a last resort would be done by the end of the year
“Queenslanders are at breaking point, and for the government to give up on finding more solutions – it’s just the most incredibly heart-wrenching thing for Queenslanders to hear,” he said.
“We will continue to put forward the solutions and we will intend to make this an issue so that Queenslanders know that there is a better way than what they’re experiencing.”
The LNP has also committed to making breach of bail an offence, opening up the Children’s Court to the media and public, and increasing police numbers.
Earlier this week, Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said repeat youth criminals should be forced to join the army in a new national service scheme.
Such service was terminated 51 years ago after a year of increasingly brazen incidents and car thefts, the fed up Mayor said “slaps on the wrist” were just “encouragement” for juvenile delinquents.
We’re fighting an invasion with a water pistol. We’ve had enough. The community deserve to know this is happening
Police officer