{"id":236700,"date":"2019-05-30T12:22:25","date_gmt":"2019-05-30T02:22:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=236700"},"modified":"2019-05-31T13:04:43","modified_gmt":"2019-05-31T03:04:43","slug":"tragedy-strikes-as-predicted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2019\/05\/30\/tragedy-strikes-as-predicted\/","title":{"rendered":"Tragedy Strikes As Predicted"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"May 30, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

by Anne Miller<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last October, I wrote an editorial urging courts to get tougher on young car thieves.<\/p>\n

I understand there is an issue with not enough beds in youth detention centres, so magistrates feel compelled to release kids back to their families (or the streets).<\/p>\n

Bail houses don’t seem to be the answer if there are no consequences for actually breaching bail conditions.<\/p>\n

And keeping kids in adult watchhouses indefinitely is not the answer, either.<\/p>\n

In that last editorial, I warned that if the pandemic of car thefts sweeping across Queensland was not curbed, children would die:<\/p>\n

“Any of this year\u2019s incidents in the South Burnett could have ended in a tragedy for either the young thieves, their passengers, the police or innocent bystanders.<\/em><\/p>\n

For the safety of the public and emergency services \u2013 and the thieves themselves \u2013 we believe it\u2019s time car theft was treated as a much more serious crime by Children\u2019s Courts than it seems to be now.<\/em><\/p>\n

The theft not only causes massive inconvenience and financial loss to the car owners, but there is also a real risk someone could die.<\/em><\/p>\n

To ram this home, a term of detention should become mandatory for both the driver AND passengers in stolen vehicles.<\/em><\/p>\n

The prospect of detention may be enough to stop some kids from hopping into a stolen car; and the lack of passengers to show off to may kill some of the thrills for the drivers.<\/em><\/p>\n

A message to the parents of the young thieves \u2026 don\u2019t protect them, don\u2019t hide them, don\u2019t lie for them.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

You will have done them no favours if they end up burned alive in a crash, paralysed in a wheelchair or doing a long stint in jail because they have killed someone.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Sadly, this prediction came true yesterday in Brisbane.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Six young people in an allegedly stolen car slammed into another car and then wrapped themselves around a pole in Rothwell.<\/p>\n

The driver was just 14.<\/p>\n

No matter how skilled he thought he was, he wasn’t …<\/p>\n

All six of the kids were trapped in the mangled wreck.<\/p>\n

One died.<\/p>\n

Imagine watching your friend die beside you while you’re trapped, in pain and helpless …<\/p>\n

The driver and his remaining four passengers were rushed to hospital, at least one in a critical condition.<\/p>\n

Fortunately – and by good luck, alone – the woman and children in the vehicle they hit were not injured.<\/p>\n

So I repeat …<\/p>\n

A message to the parents of the young thieves \u2026 don\u2019t protect them, don\u2019t hide them, don\u2019t lie for them.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

You will have done them no favours if they end up burned alive in a crash, paralysed in a wheelchair or doing a long stint in jail because they have killed someone.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

And a message to the State Government … you’re doing real harm to these young people with your inaction.<\/p>\n

We are losing youngsters who could grow up to become responsible adults who make a real difference in the community if they were just given the chance to learn self-discipline and how to respect themselves and others.<\/p>\n

Build more detention centres, or using an old-fashioned terminology, “reform schools”.<\/p>\n

They don’t have to be cruel – or culture-destroying – but actions must have consequences.<\/p>\n

Plus, and this is even more important, the State Government must provide over-stretched early family intervention services with extra support and ongoing funding that isn’t allocated from contract to contract.<\/p>\n

The chopping, changing and uncertainty must stop.<\/p>\n

And more emphasis has to be placed on providing long-term, live-in drug and alcohol rehabilitation services, especially in rural areas.<\/p>\n

No one can get clean and sober with just a handful of sessions with a social worker or psychologist.<\/p>\n