A MAN, 55, was beaten by teens armed with branches and sticks and robbed of his wallet and a bag in parklands at Logan Central last night.
The robbery happened while the man walked near Civic Parade on Monday, December 10, at 8pm.
A Queensland police spokesperson said four to six males aged between 16 to 18 demanded property, assaulted the man with branches and sticks, then fled. The man was treated at Logan Hospital for cuts to his head and right arm.
The incident is one of a spate of youth crimes which have come to the fore as the Queensland government hands down the state’s first youth justice strategy.
The government says its strategy, which includes initiatives like making young offenders face their victims instead of keeping them in jail, is designed to stop kids re-offending. The Opposition, however, says the plan is out touch with the community on crime.
In other recent cases:
- A Woodridge man, 25, was struck with a stuck with a stick, punched about the body and head and robbed of his mobile phone and wallet at Logan Gardens, Logan Central, on December 7 at 10.10pm. He was treated in hospital for cuts and bruises.
- Five teens aged 12 to 18 were arrested an charged after carjacking at Woodridge on Saturday, December 8. A police chopper was used track the car stolen after its driver who was reversing on the driveway of a Woodridge home when he was ordered out of the car by a teen armed with a metal pole.
- Seven Logan teens were changed after a Runcorn petrol station robbery ended with a police chopper and dog squad used in the chase that followed before arrests were made at Eagleby and Loganlea.
Queensland Child Safety and Youth minister Di Farmer said the strategy – Working Together: Changing the Story 2019-2023 – would deliver initiatives proven to reduce offending, reduce re-offending and address the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in the youth justice system.
Ms Farmer said the government’s strategy was based on four pillars recommended by Mr Bob Atkinson AO APM in his Report on Youth Justice: intervene early, keep children out of court, keep children out of custody and reduce reoffending.
“Many young people who are held on remand instead of being bailed are there because they don’t have a safe home to go to,” Ms Farmer said.
“That’s why we are investing almost $17 million over three years to support young people charged, or at risk of being charged with offences, so we can keep them out of detention and divert them toward more positive activities.”
More than 80 per cent of young people in detention in Queensland are on remand, well above than the national average of 61 percent. Studies show those who go to jail often re-offend.
Ms Farmer said change would require everyone to play a part in supporting and influencing the lives of children and young people.
“Change will take time, but there are lots of positive things happening right now that we can build on to improve the outcomes for families, communities and our young people,” she said.
Queensland’s LNP leader Deb Frecklington said the target to reduce youth offending by just five per cent by 2022 was pathetic.
“No one wants to lock up kids and throw away the keys – but young offenders need more than a ticking off to stop offending,” Ms Frecklington said.
“Youth crime is increasing and detention centres are over-flowing. We have a crime crisis and this government clearly doesn’t have a clue.”
The Queensland Police Service Statistical Review shows robberies committed by youth have increased 36.5 per cent since 2014-15 when Annastacia Palaszczuk became Premier, car thefts had risen 42 per cent and assaults had risen 15 per cent.
Local figures, however, are harder to isolate. An Opposition spokesman said figures for southeast Queensland – made up of the Logan and Gold Coast districts – showed assaults, robberies, break ins and car thefts committed by youth trending upwards through 2014-15 and 2016-17 but no youth figures available after those dates.
Logan figures for 2017-18 meanwhile, showed reports of assaults, robberies, break ins, car thefts and domestic violence on the rise but no break downs to indicate whether those crimes had been committed by adults or youth.
