DICING WITH DEATH
OUT-OF-CONTROL YOUTHS RISK LIVES ON ROAD
TOWNSVILLE was now “ground zero” for juvenile crime and police have had enough, the head of the Queensland Police Union has said.
The comments come after two separate incidents on the weekend involving stolen cars, one where officers had to dive for safety and another where motorists were forced off the road by a carload of offenders, the youngest aged 10. QPU president Ian Leavers said the system was broken and police had had enough of the “revolving door” of the legal system.
“Juvenile crime is out of control and we as police have had enough,” Mr Leavers said yesterday.
“We saw police almost murdered, and the outcome could have been much worse if not for their quick thinking.”
A woman and three children, including the 10-yearold, were charged with multiple offences after they were caught allegedly driving a stolen car erratically through Townsville on Saturday.
The four offenders allegedly stole a car from Lakefield Drive, Idalia about 7.30am before stealing fuel from service stations in Rosslea and Condon.
Townsville Tactical Crime Services Inspector Sean Dugger said police received multiple calls from the public after the stolen Honda CR-V was spotted driving erratically on the road, forcing motorists to swerve out of their way. All four were arrested late on Saturday afternoon near Weir State School.
Police will allege a 15year-old boy from Condon was driving the car.
That same day, two Townsville police officers were forced to dive for their lives after a stolen car drove directly at them in Rasmussen.
In a matter of seconds, the male officer was able to jump out of the way and warn his female colleague who, in turn, dived into the front seat of their police car.
The stolen car struck the open passenger-side door, causing enough damage to render the car undriveable.
The offenders took off and the car was found dumped on a nearby street.
Insp Dugger said the officers were lucky to be alive.
“They were able to take evasive action to avoid being seriously injured or possibly worse, which is not beyond the realms, due to recent events with Queensland police officers,” he said.
“We are lucky we are not discussing other matters today.” The offenders have not been caught.
“When we see these vi- cious, unprovoked attacks against police, particularly by juveniles, and then see those same juveniles get bail, we as police know the system is broken,” Mr Leavers said.
“The situation is now so bad the courts and the Government can no longer bury their heads in the sand while juveniles commit crimes in a ‘consequencefree’ environment.”
The incident is reminiscent of an incident in southeast Queensland where Constable Peter Mcaulay, 24, was run over and dragged by a stolen car in September last year.
He suffered broken bones and serious head injuries and was rushed to the intensive care unit, where he remained for weeks in a coma.
Two days before Christmas a police officer in Logan fired shots at a car that struck him during a traffic stop.
The officer was not seriously injured.