FNQ’S 800KM FRONTLINE
Police stretched from our city crime flare-ups to Cape riots
POLICE are being deployed to cover crime hot spots at both ends of the Far North. Extra officers have been sent to Aurukun in the wake of Friday’s riots with Cairns MP Michael Healy insisting numbers had not been cut in the city. The reassurance comes after a violent clash between about 20 juveniles aged 10-13 and security staff at a major shopping centre.
AUTHORITIES say police numbers in Cairns have not been cut, despite another riot in Aurukun requiring a steep increase in law enforcement in the remote Cape York community.
Two teenagers alleged to be key instigators in the town’s second major riot this year were among six people remanded in custody yesterday after many people were injured and homes and police vehicles damaged.
Dozens of people allegedly armed themselves and took to the streets on Friday night following a funeral in the Cape York community.
A total of 24 people have been charged with rioting.
Extra police have been flown in to the community, in addition to officers brought in following the January 1 riot.
Deputy Commissioner Paul Taylor said the officers had been drawn from units such as the Tactical Crime Squad, which is based in Cairns but regularly deployed across the entire Far North region.
Cairns MP Michael Healy said police staff numbers had not been reduced in Cairns, which was facing its own youth crime crisis.
“There hasn’t been a depletion of police numbers as a result of the Aurukun incident, because Brisbane has sent additional staff up here,” he said.
Seven people appeared in the Cairns Magistrates Court yesterday via videolink from Aurukun, with all but one remanded in custody.
Among those denied bail was 18-year-old Orenthio KooOila, who the court heard was already on bail for the first riot on January 1 in which eight homes were destroyed.
Magistrate Catherine Benson said the teen had argued he was only part of the angry mob and had encouraged a victim outside to fight his brother, but police have alleged he was seen breaking into a property and fighting.
Another teen, Elsbeth Wolmby, 18, was also denied bail due to her alleged involvement in this and another small riot in mid-January in which she allegedly threw something which shattered the window of a police car. The court heard she has allegedly admitted entering a residence on Friday night with a group of people and assaulting two females.
“Of grave concern is the issues that have occurred in Aurukun and it seems to continue to occur between two warring clans,” Magistrate Benson said.
She said both teens were an unacceptable risk of reoffending.
Alleged co-offenders Rex Jacobs, Ray Wolmby, Wayne Wolmby and James Woolla were all remanded in custody, while Joe Wolmby was released on bail.
All their cases were adjourned until May 13.
The Cairns Post understands police will allege this riot was sparked by community members seeking retribution for an alleged murder on January 1.
Dozens of residents reportedly slept the night in the foyer of the police station for safety on Friday night.
I’D like to begin by stating that I am acutely aware of the challenges we as a community face when it comes to youth crime.
I live in this community too and I talk with many people who have and are being impacted by youth crime, and like too many, my family has also been exposed to the scourge that is youth crime so I feel the frustration and anger within our community
So let’s ask the question, what is being done about youth crime in Cairns and the region?
Firstly and most importantly, regardless of what people “hear”, the law supports incarceration. The Youth Justice Act is very clear, a young person can be remanded in custody to keep the community safe, or to prevent them from reoffending. Police can already arrest a young person on the spot, without a warrant, if they are likely to breach or are breaching their bail conditions. That young person is then taken into custody and will appear before the court, where the judge or magistrate has the authority to revoke bail and remand the young person in custody. Politicians don’t determine who gets bail, there is a clear process of separation. The Courts in Cairns have experienced such an increase in their workload to the point that additional funds have been needed to ensure staffing levels can accommodate the demand. With more arrests, we need to ensure we have the appropriate facilities available, and as a result, we have spent well over $100 million expanding the state’s youth detention centres ensuring we have more beds available. In addition, we have guaranteed an additional 10 police officers and it is planned to have them in place by September this year.
Our police are well resourced, trained and equipped, we have extra QLITE devices, more tasers, and we are rolling out body-worn cameras in addition to $41 million being spent on new vehicles.
But just as importantly, we know the solution to this issue is not going to be solved by just locking up these kids and bequeathing them to a life of criminal ins tut iona lisa ti on. We are working on reducing the causes of youth crime. Consequently we have implemented a number of programs and initiatives, which are monitored and measured to ensure effectiveness.
Some of those programs are the Cairns Community Youth Response, which brings together a range of services and programs to reduce crime and reoffending. It is a diversionary response that assesses the root cause of an offender’s behaviour and provides personalised assistance, such as mentoring, diversionary services or alternative education to reconnect these individuals with family, culture, education and the community.
We have a senior detective running our Space and Place Activities program. This initiative is targeting at-risk young children and are putting on a number of free sporting activities after school and on weekends.
In the youth justice area, we also have the Transition to Success initiative, (T2S). This initiative reconnects young people involved in, or at risk of entering the youth justice system, with education and training.
The Conditional Bail program provides intensive and individualised support for young people in the community while on bail and awaiting sentencing. In addition the Integrated Case Management program is made up of specialised case managers who deliver intensive support to a small number of high-risk young offenders and their families to reduce reoffending and the number of young people being held on remand.
Restorative Justice Conferencing is a meeting between a young offender and the people who were affected by their offence to discuss what happened, the impact of the crime and what can be done to put things right.
Our Child Information Sharing is instantaneous sharing between agencies to support timely decision making for vulnerable children who are subject to a supervised community order or bail program.
Motor Vehicle Offenders Program is activated when young people who have been convicted of motor vehicle offences sit down with police, past offenders and those impacted by those car theft offences and discuss the widespread impact of their offences on the family they’ve stolen the car from, and the broader impact on our community.
The Specialised Multi-Agency Response Teams (SMART) is where specialist staff and case workers provide a co-ordinated assessment of the underlying factors contributing to a young person’s offending and advise the courts of the best programs and support to reduce and prevent reoffending.
These are just some of the initiatives and programs which the Queensland Government is providing to the youth of Cairns. We are also exploring a range of other options targeting specific cohorts with measured outcomes.