Cycle of crime out of control

No, no, no! Not again. Not in our lifetimes. Townsville residents have had a gutful of loser grubs ruining lives by committing crimes against innocent citizens.

Twelve months ago, Townsville made national headlines for all the wrong reasons, earning the ignominious title of Queensland’s crime capital.

The was then condemned by politicians for exposing the rampant level of crime that was plaguing our city.

Yet it was only that reportage – and our campaign for a meaningful response – that forced the government to act.

It funded extra police, introduced a cross- departmental taskforce and moved the worst offenders out of Townsville.

With the key criminals locked up or shifted out, sure enough, crime levels began to fall. Those same politicians who condemned us for revealing the problem lined up to take credit for solving it. Yet here we go again. In the space of 48 hours, 13 cars and a motorbike stolen. More than a dozen homes broken into.

And, disturbingly, one break- in in which an attempt was allegedly made to sexually assault a nine- year- old girl.

It is to be hoped this is but an aberration but that is unfortunately unlikely to be the case.

Why? For the same reason we raised twelve months ago. The government has still not addressed the core driver of crime.

Police resources are all very well — and indeed very welcome.

But unless you remove the offenders from the community for any length of time, nothing changes.

What we are witnessing is not overly complex. The crimes are happening because those original offenders are back on the streets. Two members of the family moved out of the city have moved back. And sure enough, the crime returns.

The law and order system is, like any chain, as strong as its weakest link.

In this case, the courts and the sentencing system are that weak link.

Offenders are released, invariably without any program for rehabilitation nor any follow- up from authorities.

So they go back to what they know best — offending.

Until we take a root and branch approach to this, until we recognise this is a systemic crisis, we will continue to witness this depressing cycle.