Repeated vandalism and harassment by youths on legal and illegal vehicles at Canberra sportsgrounds has prompted an imminent police crackdown.
But what's the police's take on it all? And what do officers think needs to be done?
While ACT Policing's operation details are yet to be revealed, club officials, players and parents wait anxiously, desperate to see the anti-social behaviour targeting sports come to an end as soon as possible, especially as wet weather has made grass turf soft and more susceptible to damage.
Beyond the appalling incidents that have made headlines and left multiple fields out of action as repairs are frantically completed, more people continue to come forward to share their stories of encountering hoons on e-bikes, motorcycles and cars.
Australian Federal Police Association representative Alex Caruana said the answer to address the issue is simple.
The union boss said Canberra desperately need more boots on the ground, so when patrols are called to sportsgrounds to help deter anti-social behaviour or vandalism they aren't forced to abandon the scene due to a more immediate emergency.
"I can't speak on behalf of ACT Policing, but I can certainly speak on behalf of the membership, and they feel that they're stretched, they're thin on the ground, trying to meet community expectations," Caruana said.
"It's just tough with the current financial climate that they find themselves in. The government has invested in policing for extra officers, but we wanted an additional 250 police officers to meet the national average of police officers per capita, and we're not getting that.
"We've got the lowest number of police officers per capita anywhere in Australia.
"If we were proactively policing, so we had a police presence out in the community including at sportsgrounds, it is highly likely that a good chunk of these crimes will be prevented.
"The data is very clear. Purely having a police presence in a shopping centre stops dozens of crimes from occurring."
At a recent sports forum attended by multiple codes that use public facilities across the capital, many complaints emerged of further incidents of groups of motorised bike riders causing trouble.
Down at Banks during a little athletics meet and presentation, young people on a variety of motorised bikes harassed athletes, parents and club officials.
"We can no longer go down there by ourselves, there has to be two people because these kids are absolute mongrels," they said.
"They intimidate, they're absolutely horrible and they have no fear.
"We had a presentation and they rocked up on their little motorised bikes and we actually called the police. The police said they'd send a patrol, but we didn't see one.
"I've had enough of these ratbags that know they cannot be touched."
In July last year, the minimum age of criminal responsibility in the ACT increased to 14 years old, meaning those under that age cannot be held criminally responsible for harmful behaviour.
However, there are exceptions for kids 12 and 13 who commit certain serious and intentionally violent offences and children over 10 can still be charged with Commonwealth offences.
Caruana said for any offenders under 14 there's little police can do to deter anti-social behaviour, vandalism and other crimes, making it harder for authorities to do their jobs in the community.
"We literally can't touch them," the union spokesperson said.
"With the criminal age responsibility being raised, a lot of these crimes being committed by 14, 13, or 12 year old and under kids, police can't touch them.
"We can't hold them accountable. It's very limited what police can do other than a stern talking to them or the parents, and with this level of untouchability and entitlement, we're creating problems in the future.
"There is no deterrent for those kids."
