Kununurra crime wave: Top cops blame unsavoury hours and unsafe homes for Kimberley kids running amok

Former police commissioner Karl O’Callaghan has called for the Cook Government to remove troubled Indigenous youth from family danger amid a juvenile crime wave across the Kimberley. Mr O’Callaghan acknowledged sensitivities around the issue, but said “woke rot” must be abandoned to stop kids being on the street and turning to crimes such as car theft and police chases. It comes after a 10-year-old boy was arrested twice in as many nights in Kununurra last week, charged with being in a stolen car chasing police. He was one of 29 juveniles arrested in the town over a week. Footage taken by 7News of police patrols in Kununurra on Monday night show authorities breaking up groups of juveniles as young as 13 late at night, and a number of young girls in stolen cars in what officers said was a mild night. Police knew many by name. The Kimberley — which saw extra officers deployed last week in response to the incidents — has long been plagued by youth crime, with stolen and burnt cars and property theft and vandalism the norm in the region. Mr O’Callaghan said crime would continue to spike until the State Government made unpalatable decisions such as removing child offenders from unsafe homes. “We’ve got to get a bit harder to save those kids and the town and the Kimberley,” Mr O’Callaghan said. “I know this is really sensitive, but there is a case for some of those children to be taken away. Where children are in moral danger, physical danger, they have to be removed and placed, hopefully with another Aboriginal family, but placed somewhere.” Mr O’Callaghan said all attempts to address the issues had been band aid solutions that did not address the root cause of the issues. “It’s been going on for more than 30 years and there’s been a lot of different interventions, but none of them have ever come to anything concrete,” Mr O’Callaghan said. “And one of the issues with having multiple different CEO’s and multiple agencies and ministers responsible for that problem is it never really gets resolved. You have two steps forward and three steps back. “Everyone is so worried about the stolen generation that we’re getting confused. What we’re talking about is not stealing anybody indiscriminately. It’s about targeting kids that need rescuing. “Forget about the stolen generation. We’re going to steal their lives if we haven’t got a way of intervening, because these kids will become the next generation of parents who are addicted to drugs and alcohol.” Mr O’Callaghan stated it was not a cultural issue, but agreed it was a generational problem. “The only way to stop this generation of kids becoming the next generation of parents who are not looking after their kids, is to have a significant intervention,” he said. “It needs to be led by government, and I would say probably something like Premier and Cabinet. That’s how significant it is, because a lot of these kids are living in third world conditions.” The Cook Government said it was committed to an “evidence-based approach”. “While these recent reports of violent incidents in Kununurra are concerning, the circumstances are often complex and require a considered response,” a Government spokeswoman said. “We have coordinated agencies to deliver a range of measures — night patrols, safe spaces and on-call support services — to help support vulnerable children. “We are starting to see positive results, as (Childrens Court President) Hylton Quail himself acknowledged earlier this week.” And the Government rejected Opposition calls for Ministers to make a mercy dash up north. “WA Government Ministers have visited the region every month since the State Election,” the statement said. Department of Communities boss Mike Rowe this week said child removal was a “last resort”, but senior police have warned a lack of support services after-dark has turned them into babysitters, unable to find a responsible adult to return children to. Mr O’Callaghan was the State’s top cop from 2004 to 2017 and fired a salvo about “war zone” conditions in regional WA towns on his way out of the job. He made headlines in 2017 when he compiled video evidence that aimed to “shock” then Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull into action. And in 2015, he had backed a controversial bid by the Barnett Government to forcibly close some remote Indigenous communities to combat child abuse and neglect. Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas called Kununurra a town “under siege”. Asked how he would fix it, he called for a permanent increase in police numbers and for a proposed Night Space in Kununurra to be fast-tracked. Police Commissioner Col Blanch said those programs have worked elsewhere. “In Fitzroy and Broome they’re seeing great results,” he said. “That’s something that we all hope to do. You don’t want to rush things, because you want to make sure it’s done properly. “And the biggest challenge for us in a State the size of ours is a workforce that’s ready and able to work unsavoury hours.” The Police Union warned that a shortage of Government Regional Officer Housing is making recruitment difficult, and has appealed for police to be given access to a home ownership subsidy scheme. “Kununurra, I know for sure, is short of staff, because there’s no housing availability now,” WAPU President Dave Flaherty said. “The standard of GROH housing has probably improved over the years. But, certainly, maintenance seems to be the biggest bugbear that we come across. “We put forward different ideas over the time, that maybe their rent should be suspended during periods when they’re when they’re waiting long periods for maintenance, and maybe GROH should wear the cost.” Teachers have complained that they’ve been handed wheel clamps at induction, because their homes don’t have secure garages. “Having to back your car up to your door because the security screen hasn’t been fixed is unacceptable,” State School Teachers Union President Matt Jarman said. Education Minister Sabine Winton said she was “a bit gutted” to hear three teachers have been robbed, but insisted it’s not a widespread problem. “These incidents are distressing. But can I stress that overwhelmingly, there are thousands of teachers in the bush, living in the bush, each and every day, who are having a fantastic experience,” she said. “It’s my job, and my great desire to get more people living in the country.”