A Wagga man has called for beefed-up police resources and blasted laws for allowing minors to “get away with a slap on the wrist” after the brazen theft and burn of his first car.
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William George’s prized Ford Falcon ute was found burnt-out at the Music Bowl last week. It reopens the long-standing issue of trashed and stolen cars in the city, which peaked earlier this year after seemingly daily occurrences.
Police landed a key arrest some months ago, but the city’s police chief told the Advertiser on Monday juveniles were still on the watch list among others.
A frustrated Mr George is led to believe police powers are restricted.
“If it is minors doing these things, which I have heard it is, they need to get more than a slap on the wrist,” he said.
“They should be treated as a normal adult at the end of the day. They are aware of the harm they are causing and they should pay for it.”
Mr George’s rebuke of the Young Offenders Act – which prevents prosecution of children under the age of 10 – raises questions about the effectiveness of the legal system to prevent the recurrence of crimes.
Police have had some success in curbing juvenile offences, with figures from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research showing instances of theft are down 28 per cent on last year. However, juvenile theft in Wagga continues to be at the upper end of scale and more than double the state average.
“The police do a fantastic job and they work hard, but it seems their hands are tied,” Mr George said.
Wagga local area commander Superintendent Bob Noble defended police efforts and said the “strongest action possible” was taken against juvenile offenders.
“If we can prove an offence, we will initiate some sort of action,” Superintendent Noble said.
“So we will always do something, but it might not be in-keeping with the expectations of the victim.”
Superintendent Noble admitted the boundaries of the Young Offenders Act sometimes even frustrated police, but said the law was “sound” because it kept kids out of the justice system.
He said kids younger than 10 needed the best possible start in life or risk problems later down the track.
“Sometimes that is of very cold comfort to the victim,” Superintendent Noble said.
The theft of Mr George’s ute is the second instance reported this week, with the plight another Turvey Park resident also highlighted on Monday.
Mr George encouraged more people to come forward and notify police of crime.
“So many people are not reporting crime. They’ve had people lurking in their backyard and just keep it to themselves,” he said.
“But they should realise that there is a bigger picture in all of this. If police know about crime, they can say to the commissioner ‘we need more police in Wagga’.”
In a win for Wagga police, they were granted a boost to their resources with the allocation of an additional five officers announced last week.
It brought the number of new police this year to 10, but short of the 32 called for by the Police Association.