Mayor Meets with Police Command on Youth Crime

Published on 20 August 2024

“Today, I attended an urgent meeting with local and senior police command from Queensland and New South Wales to address the recent surge in violent juvenile crime in our community,” stated the Mayor, the Honourable Cr Lawrence Springborg AM.

“I am pleased to report a high level of cooperation between the two jurisdictions in addressing this issue. It is encouraging to hear that most of the alleged offenders have been identified and are in custody awaiting court appearances.

“I have confirmed with police that it is a small number of individuals that continue to be responsible for this disturbing behaviour, and that our community likely slips back to a safe and peaceful state whilst they are in custody. Unfortunately, once they appear before the courts, they are too often returned back to the community unsupervised and without appropriate reprimand or restraint back to the community.

“While we commend our local police force for their tireless efforts and impressive apprehension rates, my fellow Councillors and I share the police's deep frustration at the consistent lack of meaningful consequences for these repeat juvenile offenders. It is evident that the current laws are failing our community. To effectively combat this ongoing problem, I am calling for urgent reforms to laws to ensure consequences for offenders.” said the Mayor.

The meeting also highlighted the critical issue of understaffing at our local police station.

The Mayor said, "I have pledged my full support to the Queensland Police Commissioner to ensure our station is urgently back to full operational strength of 18 officers. We also thank them for the temporary surge capacity they are currently providing to address the shortfall.

“The Goondiwindi Region has always prided itself on being a safe and welcoming place to raise a family. It's a place of law-abiding citizens where neighbours look out for one another. The recent surge in violent juvenile crime is entirely out of character and utterly unacceptable. We refuse to allow our community to be defined by these recent incidents, which are a stark contrast to the peaceful lives most of us lead.

"I also want to mention the impact of the recent social media and mainstream media coverage of incidents of crime. With the increasing prevalence of technology and social media our community is confronted with the disturbing reality of this violence through graphic social media content. This exposure fosters a climate of fear and insecurity, which is a natural reaction and significantly impacts the community's overall well-being and sense of safety. However, there's a genuine concern that offenders actions are glorified through the repeated exposure on social media and mainstream media, adding to the cycle of crime.

“Our community deserves to feel safe and protected. The Queensland government must take decisive action on the laws relating to sentencing, release and monitoring of these offenders,” said the Mayor.