CATCHING CRIMS IS ONLY PART OF THE TASK

THE operation launched by Queensland Police to deal with the crime situation plaguing Townsville has become a hot topic around the city. Townsville was under siege again on Thursday night into Friday morning, with another group of cars stolen, homes broken into and a police car rammed by a stolen car.

The thing is though, every single person who has lived in Townsville for longer than five minutes knows this city has an issue with juvenile crime. That’s what makes the continued barrage Townsvillians continue to cop so hard to swallow.

Our local representatives know it’s happening – according to their social media posts, we know they know.

But where are they in demanding action. Not just these 10-day operations, but genuine, meaningful action.

It has become painfully apparent that this issue is greater than just a policing problem.

In a simplistic view it’s very hard to see how a 10-day operation gets to the root of what’s going on here in Townsville.

As this very column pointed out yesterday, there will be a short reprieve before those young people are released and back to their criminal ways. That’s if they get locked up in the first place.

But what happens after that?

A pat on the back and a ‘see ya in a couple of weeks’ as they leave Cleveland Youth Detention Centre?

What good does that do?

This is a social issue, as much as it is a criminal one.

Officers who have spoken to the Bulletin over the years have admitted to feeling frustrated over the continued game of catch and release with young offenders.

The officers are frustrated to see the situation many of them live in, the abuse they’ve suffered through and the neglect.

It’s not just the neglect from their parents or their legal guardians, but from a system that is failing them.

A system that this government pumps millions of dollars into every year that is not doing a good enough job.

How this city and its three elected state officials can sit back and be happy to let the police wear this one again would be laughable, if it wasn’t so very sad.