Burglary ‘trainer’ instructs children

FOOTAGE of what appears to be an adult showing young people the ropes of criminal activity has appeared online.

Townsville Chief Superintendent Craig Hanlon condemned the activity, which was captured on a homeowner’s CCTV cameras on Thursday morning.

The footage shows three young people following a large, tall man into a Mount Louisa front yard.

The taller man struggles to open the gate around the property, and a smaller boy leaps over the fence into the Hilltop Drive property.

The man walks towards the door, the younger group in tow, and tries the door handle, but it is locked.

The group retreats into the street as a car drives past.

H o m e owner Kiri Turk posted the footage online and said she thought the car was a “getaway” vehicle.

She claimed that multiple homes in her street were “tried”, but police only received one report of a break-in on Thursday.

Eastern Patrol Group Inspector Damien Crosby said police were still investigating.

In the past week, 55 breakins have been reported in the Townsville district, and 364 reported in the past month.

Superintendent Hanlon said if the group’s leader was an adult family member or friend, it was not acceptable.

“This kind of behaviour is putting these kids down a path they may find it difficult to leave,” he said.

“They will potentially be disengaged for the rest of their life ... Children and young people take guidance from adults … and this sort of behaviour would result in greater punishment for the adults.”