General News
20 May, 2025
Crime: enough is enough
AN Indigenous grandmother is calling for urgent action on crime committed in her Mareeba neighbourhood after her car was taken and dumped in Granite Creek, and she was later targeted by young people in a stolen car.
The woman, whose name has been withheld, had her car stolen from her home in Ward Street and later found it dumped in the waterway. She also claims a vehicle stolen by youths in her neighbourhood had attempted to run her over.
The former university-educated community welfare and social worker said she was sick of the behaviour of the local kids and the complete disrespect they had for the elderly, and their community.
She said she had approached a number of youth justice services and Aboriginal corporations, but “everybody says their hands are tied”.
“These kids, they’ve got nothing. I’ve seen it. It’s generational. The parents grew up that way,” she said.
“It’s all wrong on so many levels. It’s a tragedy.
“They’re not going to school, they’re stealing from the shops up town, they’re abusing people on the main street. They have this power over the community and the town.”
Last Tuesday night, the woman said she saw a group of young people dressed in dark clothes carrying backpacks walk past her home and immediately knew something was going to happen.
The next thing she heard was a roaring coming up the street at high speed.
“It was pretty early, before midnight, usually they steal cars in the early hours of the morning,” she said.
“Everybody was still awake and as soon it came speeding up, you could hear it squealing and screeching, then everybody came out of their houses. You can still see all the burn-out marks on the street and on the pavement.
“We heard it go up Ward St speeding, they couldn’t control the car very well. They turned up Carol St and then drove through a sort of loop at the end of the road through to Vaughn St.
“Then they went over the bridge and over the Leagues Club way, to all that grass area, doing burnouts.”
She said she called the police several times to let them know where the vehicle was and suggested they cut them off at the bridge. She says she was aware of some young people on phones, and believed they were warning the people in the stolen car, which returned to Ward St.
“It came down the street and then up onto my front lawn and they crashed into my bins. We ran back inside the garden. Then they bottomed out on my driveway trying to go back on the road and oil started leaking everywhere.”
Just a week before the incident, the woman had her car stolen from her home, and said it was one of many taken locally over the past two weeks.
“I have a set of keys which I keep around my neck, but the spare was in the bloody car,” she said.
“It was dumped in the creek and then they threw rocks at it. Why would you do that? Why?”
A QPS police spokesperson confirmed an unlocked car was stolen from Ward St between 1am and 3am on 3 May. It was “located in a nearby river on 5 May”. Investigations were continuing.
At 65, the woman has lived in Ward St for over 20 years and watched its decline.
“I have had enough. The good ones have all gone, they had enough too,” she said.
“And now you can’t even sell your house, the real estate agents say no one wants to live here. You can’t get out, no use even trying.”
She hoped that by speaking out, she would stir some action to improve her neighbourhood, and the town.
“I’ve spoken with the Elders, and they’ve got native title. They could use a piece of land with a lease on, get government funding and start some programs for these kids. Get them out of town, show them there is a glimmer of hope for the future,” she said.
But it needed a whole community approach, she continued, with a committee of local members, lawyers, police, Elders and agencies.
The QPS spokesperson said community safety was a top priority for Mareeba police, and they regularly conducted high-visibility patrols and covert operations to prevent offending across the Tablelands.
“Police Liaison Officers (PLOs) also work with First Nations people in the community to address issues and foster communication,” the spokesperson said.
“Earlier this month, the State Flying Squad was deployed to the Tablelands to target hotspot areas and apprehend property offenders. With this deployment alone, across the Cairns area inclusive of the Tablelands, there were 206 arrested on 620 charges.”
