Petition seeks to see stronger consequences for youth crime

A petition to see stronger consequences for young offenders has been circulating, originating in the North West area.

Tamworth local Phebe Furneaux created the petition which became public on Tuesday last week. By Thursday afternoon, it had 5500 signatures.

It aims to make changes to the Young Offenders Act.

Youth crime is a familiar issue for Phebe, as a victim of a violent home invasion.

Gunnedah and the region has experienced youth crime in full force with offenders most commonly breaking into homes, stealing cars and threatening home occupants with weapons.

For Gunnedah’s Christian Christiansen, it all came to a breaking point after a Narrabri man was killed on a Gunnedah road last month.

A 14-year-old boy, the alleged driver of the stolen Isuzu D-Max Utility, was charged with 15 offences, including aggravated dangerous driving occasioning death. The two other 14-year-olds who occupied the vehicles were charged with five offences.

“It just clicked in me that morning … and I decided to write a [Facebook] post to get the community together,” Christian said.

“It was a post of emotion. I wanted to get people together and march the streets and whatnot.

“That was my initial thought – not to start any dramas, but to get the community together.”

He quickly realised it would not happen on his own, so he offered out his phone number and was met with enough support to form the North West Concerned Citizens committee.

The members reached out to towns such as Armidale, Scone, Narrabri and Moree for support.

Plans for action quickly evolved. The initial talk of a march turned into a public rally or public meeting but as the thought was fleshed out, Christian became concerned as to what could eventuate at a gathering with “raw emotions”.

“Basically, we didn’t want to start a brawl,” Christian said.

That on top of that would be a hefty insurance invoice for meeting on council land across multiple towns.

While the committee had not looked at quotes, members believed the price tag could be in the millions.

“The [petition is the] most important part anyway, because that’s what’s going to change the outcome, not having a meeting or not walking down the street,” Christian said.

He helped to get the message about the petition out into the community through social media and by handing out flyers.

Christian believed another upside to the petition is the option to keep people’s identity hidden to offenders.

He was asked about those wanting to see more to be done in terms of preventative and rehab measures.

“I believe that is a good view, and we should look into that. But right now, what the community needs is safety,” he said.

“For the community to be safe, these people need to be off the street. That’s our first priority.

“Then you can look into how can to help them.

“I guess a lot of [young offenders] just want to be part of something. ”

He hoped that changing the law would result in more people joining the police force, as law enforcement will be better supported.

“People who are already committing crimes, keep doing it,” he said.

“Something has to happen there and also supporting our local police. They are doing a huge job.”

Christian has not been a victim of youth crime but feels strongly about changing the laws.

“I feel like something has to be done by somebody, because there are plenty of good ideas on Facebook,” Christian said.

Christian is originally from a “safe community” in Denmark where he said doors could be left unlocked, unlike in Gunnedah.

He connected with people through his work in home service, learning they have been victims of crime.

He thanked all the people on the committee along with Phebe for creating the petition.