Frustrated Queenslanders have told a youth crime forum that they have considered taking matters into their own hands, prompting police to warn that there could be “no place” for vigilantism.
Police minister Mark Ryan, youth minister Leanne Linard and the state’s police commissioner Katarina Carroll, addressed an unruly crowd on Wednesday night at a community forum in Toowoomba’s Armitage Centre.
The sold-out forum ran late into the night and heard harrowing stories from dozens of locals. Some of these included an elderly resident being confronted by machete-wielding home invaders, a mother feeling too afraid to leave the house and a young woman demanding justice over an alleged rape.
Another man confessed he had “vigilante thoughts” and considered taking “matters” into his “own hands” after his car was stolen, while others asked what they could do to defend themselves.
Tension has boiled over in the “Garden City” after a teenager was shot on Wednesday and beloved local Robert Brown died on Monday from a brain injury following an alleged assault and robbery.
Queensland police superintendent, Doug McDonald, told hundreds of residents, and up to 950 online viewers, that he understood their frustrations but vigilantism is not the answer.
“The last few weeks we’ve seen numerous times where members of the community have provided real-time updates on vehicles of interest. I want to commend the community ... however, there’s the risk of vigilantism,” McDonald said on Wednesday.
“That is a fear and it is also reflected in the online comments that I’ve seen. There’s no place for that in a respectful community. It puts the lives and safety of the community at great risk.”
But not everyone in the audience was receptive. “How do you counter a machete?” a woman yelled out before receiving rowdy cheers and applause.
His comments came as the government announced the launch of a youth co-responder team, amid immense local pressure.
The team will involve police partnering with youth justice workers to patrol streets and engage with young people where they congregate.
“They shouldn’t be on the streets, they should be somewhere safe,” Linard said.
It is part of a three-pronged strategy to address youth crime in the city, along with intensive bail supervision and increased funding to a community-based crime action committee.
Ryan said there would be 35 extra police positions in the region in the next year and plugged the state government’s 10-point plan to respond to youth crime.
“Some of these initiatives will increase penalties for offending.. Some of these initiatives will strengthen sentencing principles to ensure youth offenders are held in custody on sentence for longer,” Ryan said.
Carroll said acting early was crucial to divert children from the youth justice system.
“The evidence clearly shows you that if you can intervene early with wraparound services, if you can put those programs in place that you will actually have some of that success,” she said.
While some called for punitive approaches, many victims of crime who spoke with the Guardian advocated for early intervention solutions and a therapeutic approach.
One of those locals was Phil Armit who has lived in Toowoomba for 26 years.
He says a few years ago a man jumped out of his bathroom and struck his wife, breaking her rib, in a failed home invasion.
Armit says while he empathises with the anger, stricter penalties will only make children “tougher and harder” when they leave youth detention.
“What we all want is a safe community… The system’s broken and it’s making things worse,” he said.
“There’s a quote I read somewhere of a 16-year-old saying he went into prison knowing how to break into houses and he came out knowing how to steal cars, cook meth and kill people. That’s not a trajectory we want these kids to go down.”
Nadia Brady has lived in Toowoomba all her life. She says children’s voices have been lost in the heated youth crime debate.
“You have to actually listen to those young people. What do they want… and what does early intervention mean to them?” she said.
Brady says much of the rhetoric online has become “us versus them”, with locals afraid and angry about increased crime rates.
“Those feelings are valid… but that makes it worse for young people who’ve offended because they no longer have a safe place in the community. And then nobody feels safe; victims of crime or offenders,” she said.
Ken Cunliffe, a member of Voice of Victims Toowoomba, wants victims to be supported and to play an integral part in the justice process.
“I became a victim of crime 18 months ago. We have recovered but many people won’t,” Cunliffe said.
“[Offending] needs to be tackled at both ends. A lot of these children have come from tragic backgrounds. But the hardcore recidivist offenders need to be removed from our streets.”
Chief executive of Emerge Youth Toowoomba, Jen Shaw, hopes the community will stay calm and support those engaging with troubled youth.
“I have met many kids who are offending because they want to go to detention. That’s where they find… shelter, food, clothing, hygiene,” she said.
“When you feel like you belong somewhere and people get you… that’s when beautiful change starts to happen.
“How can we take what’s working for these kids and wrap ourselves around them? They’ve already had the punishment, let’s try a different approach.”
