That we are in the grip of an unprecedented crime wave in the city is a given.

It’s easy to measure the monetary toll - the loss of property, the increase in insurance premiums.

The human toll is harder to quantify.

Many victims are scared to leave their own homes, their faith in the community they loved eroded.

What’s driving the crime spate is both multi-faceted and complex.

Are too many good people being victimised? Yes. Are these young offenders lawless and disrespectful? Yes. Does the justice system go soft on some young offenders? You bet.

But those facts do not solve the problem.

Tub-thumping talkback hosts and short-sighted locals think they have the answers.

They blame the bleeding-heart magistrates, the deadbeat parents, the ice scourge, the Young Offenders Act, even US rap music.

They claim locking offenders up or making them do military service will be a silver-bullet solution.

They’re wrong.

Punishing young offenders is clearly part of the puzzle, but it’s only a piece.

It does little to address the root cause of antisocial behaviour.

These crimes are committed in large part by Indigenous children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Many come from families where alcohol abuse and violence render a normal home life and education impossible.

They are born into a life of hopelessness, where role models are thin on the ground and going to jail is a rite of passage.

The juvenile justice system is not equipped to deal with the deep-seated issues of identity and self-esteem these children are carrying.

Of course, a large part of the responsibility rests with Indigenous leaders and parents.

And the courts should also drop their colour blindness and give sterner and more consistent sentences to young offenders convicted of violent crimes.

But the uncomfortable truth is we don’t have an Indigenous problem in Wagga, we have a social problem.

And we’re all responsible for addressing it.