Mackay: Vigilantes in troubled town post ominous letter

It’s the talk of the city.

But not everyone is happy about it.

An anonymous announcement by a vigilante group has provoked a strong reaction in Mackay’s Northern Beaches area in Central Queensland.

The announcement warns of an approaching community-backed curfew for youths after a wave of crime in the area.

The notice, photographed and then posted to the Blacks Beach Mackay Community Group Facebook page states there will be a “community enforced curfew” for all youths in the Northern Beaches suburbs from May 22 “due to the large number of unpunished break-ins and car thefts”.

“From 10pm till daylight, Mon-Sun any youths caught walking the streets shall be disciplined,” the announcement reads.

“I urge all parents to share this announcement with your family and friends.”

The note then calls on fathers to be “ready to stand up for your community”.

“Watch over your street and look out for your neighbours and protect those unable to do so,” it adds.

A Queensland Police spokesperson told news.com.au that they were “aware and monitoring” the situation.

The state’s Police Minister Mark Ryan meanwhile slammed the note telling news.com.au there was there “no place in the community for vigilante behaviour”.

“It is inherently dangerous for all concerned, and can lead to prosecution,” he said.

“Leave police work to police, they are the experts. In relation to curfews, they already exist.”

Mr Ryan said a general curfew would “unfairly impinge” on the vast majority of people who do the right thing and have legitimate reasons to be out at night, for example taking part in sporting activities or work.

The announcement has received a mixed response from those on the streets of Mackay.

Sam Disa who runs TJ Mini-Mart in South Mackay said they had enough of crime in the area.

“Shoplifters, young people, it is bad,” he told news.com.au

He said while there has been some improvement over the last year it was still a problem.

Lagi Kofe who runs NightOwl Mackay North Greenfields said her business had got broken into last year with the damage costly.

“It’s a massive problem,” she told news.com.au.

“It’s not just what they stole, it is the damage from the break-in that adds up”.

One local told 7News Mackay that while youth crime was “beyond a joke” the curfew would “make it worse”.

While another said “parents need to start taking control” of their kids and that there isn’t enough police on the front line.

The vigilante activity has coincided with a growing statewide trend of frustrated residents taking enforcement measures into their own hands.

Earlier this month an angry mob of more than 100 people roamed the streets between residences in a crime ridden suburb of Rockhampton as they tried to take a recent “crime wave” into their own hands.

The chaotic scenes were sparked, according to The Courier Mail, after Torin O’Brien, a former One Nation candidate, made a Facebook appeal for information about the identity of alleged thieves who recently broke into his sister’s Wandal home.

“The crime wave has been big for a while, I hadn’t been affected until now (but) when my sister and newborn woke up in their room alone with three tower men in there,” Mr O’Brien said.

“These grubs have finally messed with the wrong people.”

In the post Mr O’Brien urged readers to “rat on their mates”.

The post gained more than 350 shares and almost 50 comments with information and support for Mr O’Brien, who owns a local Muay Thai gym, with people jumping to the comments section to vent their anger at the worsening crime problem.

Last Friday Indigenous parents met at Central Park to express concerns their children may be targeted by vigilantes in the wake of the fast-growing ‘I stand with Torin’ movement.

“We have concerns about our children, there has been mistaken identity across our country for a lot of years and there has even been deaths from mistaken identity and people caught in the crossfire,” Darumbal man Trent White told The Courier Mail.

“Our kids that aren’t out there committing crime are caught in the crossfire of kids and even adults who are.”

In April this year the Queensland government announced a funding package estimated to be worth more than $3m to fight the scourge of youth offending.

In a statement, the government said the funding would be provided through 12 new community projects focused on tackling youth crime at the grassroots.

Queensland Youth Justice Minister Leanne Linard said the Community Partnership Innovation Grants are aimed at local solutions for the causes of youth crimes.

“Local communities are often the first to see when a young person disconnects from family, stops attending school or shows anti-social behaviour,” she said.

“The Palaszczuk Government’s Community Partnership Innovation Grants enable grassroots organisations to stop offending before it starts, or reduce offending, to make a real difference to the lives of young people.”

The government also committed an extra 2000 police personnel to crime hot spots.

The announcement came just days after the state’s Opposition Leader, David Crisafulli, told Sky News that Youth Offending had reached an “inferno stage” across the state.

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“What we have is a generation of repeat, hardcore young offenders who know that their rights outweigh the rights of the victim,” Mr Crisafulli said.

-with Hugo Timms

carla.mascarenhas@news.com.au

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