POLICE are turning up the heat on more than 40 of Cairns' worst young offenders as part of a round-the-clock operation targeting juvenile crime. Is the justice system too leniant on young offenders?
Cairns Child Protection and Investigation Unit detectives have already charged 30 of the city’s serial child criminals and are hunting 12 more as part of Operation Elevate.
The blitz, which involves nine officers from the unit’s Juvenile Justice Team, has resulted in 253 charges for offences ranging from burglary and vehicle theft to assault and robbery. Some of the children charged are as young as 11.
CPIU Det Sen-Sgt Glenn Horan said the youngsters targeted were a core group of suspects believed responsible for most of the juvenile crime in Cairns.
"That shows, as always, that it’s a small percentage of the teenage population who commit significant crime," he said.
Det Sen-Sgt Horan said some children had been rounded up at least twice during the operation for separate crime sprees.
Four boys, including two 11-year-olds, considered among the worst serial offenders were last night in custody on several property offence charges.
As part of the operation, police have their eyes on more than 40 young
offenders.
Det Sgt Alisha Keogh said many of the offenders were targeting unlocked homes, searching for vehicle keys and stealing cars.
"That is their main goal: to look for the keys," she said.
"Sometimes if they can’t take the car that night they’ll steal the keys and go back in a couple of days to get the car."
In one of the most concerning incidents, a 15-year-old boy used a spanner and a knife to attack a 64-year-old man.
Just on the weekend, two teenagers, along with a 23-year-old man, were charged over an alleged assault at
Murray St.
The attack left a 32-year-old man in Cairns Base Hospital with head
injuries.
Det Sen-Sgt Horan said the operation was launched after the police intelligence section noticed a spike in the rate of juvenile crime, particularly in property offences and attacks on people.
The age of many of the offenders was alarming, he said.
"It is concerning that there are very young children becoming involved," Det Sen-Sgt Horan said.
"Often they’re led astray by older offenders."
He said the operation’s success would hopefully slow down the rate of juvenile crime but warned residents were still leaving themselves vulnerable by not locking up their homes.
"Realistically if they did that, we’d probably see a reduction in crime anyway," Det Sen-Sgt Horan said.
