Children face theft charges

FIVE children – including a well known repeat offender – have been arrested following a spate of car thefts and breakins around Townsville.

Property crime boss Troy Bond said the youngest was 13.

Idalia, Pimlico, Rosslea, Kirwan and Railway Estate were all hit. The arrests came after the Bulletin revealed there had been 80 break-ins in six days.

Property Crime Unit’s Sen Constable Bond admitted yesterday there had been an increase in property offences this year.

Four were granted bail.

FIVE children, including a well known repeat offender, have been arrested following a spate of car thefts and break-ins around Townsville.

Townsville Property Crime Unit Senior Constable Troy Bond said the five juveniles ranged in age from 13 to 15. They were charged with offences including unlawful use of a motor vehicle, burglary, enter premises, stealing, fraud and possessing tainted property.

Idalia, Pimlico, Rosslea, Kirwan and Railway Estate were all hit by the alleged criminals.

Sen-constable Bond said some of the alleged property offenders were known to police with one being a well known repeat offender.

The arrests came after the Townsville Bulletin revealed there had been 80 break-ins in the Townsville area in just six days. However, police said yesterday the numbers did not represent a “spike”.

Police statistics reveal there were 382 break-ins this month compared to 309 last January.

After the arrest of the five teenagers, Sen-constable Bond admitted there had been an increase in property offences this year.

“I’m not sure whether you’d call it a spike, but there is an increase which is normal,” he said. “It is frustrating and it’s obviously a concern especially when you’re looking at offences involving motor vehicles being driven by juveniles of that age.”

Sen-constable Bond’s comments on the rise of property crime echoed those of Acting Superintendent Glen Pointing who told the Bulletin the break-in figures were not out of the ordinary.

Four of the juveniles were granted bail while the fifth was remanded in custody to appear in court at a later date.

In the past 24 hours 11 home and vehicle break-ins were reported to police and three cars were stolen.

Another 10 cars reported stolen remain outstanding.

Police have been targeting property crime offenders since October last year when Operation Romeo Seville was launched to target known property offenders that were causing havoc across the city.

Lisa Lee was left shaken and in shock when her car was stolen on Tuesday night.

Her 2014 Jeep Cherokee was stolen from her home as was her purse and work keys.

“I’ve never been in shock before,” Ms Lee said.

Ms Lee said it was frustrating crime continued to be a problem in Townsville.