Geraldton residents speak up about youth crime at National party forum

Boot camps for offenders, a truancy service to take kids to school and punishing parents for their children’s actions were some possible solutions flagged by Geraldton residents at a community crime forum hosted by the Nationals WA this week.

Locals aired their grievances and proposed solutions to crime in the region to the Nationals on Monday at the forum, with about 60 people attending.

Discussions were directed towards Nationals WA leader Shane Love and Geraldton candidate Kirrilee Warr.

The majority of attendees were frustrated with youth crime in the community, with many believing the courts were not hard enough on young offenders.

Parental responsibility was also discussed, with some believing a lack of intervention from parents was causing issues.

Some patrons felt it was a lack of respect from offenders, saying more needed to be done to keep them from reoffending.

The Nationals in response empathised with people’s concerns.

The party was also honest in saying they did not have all the answers when it came to solutions, but hearing the needs of the community was important towards finding them.

Some solutions put forward by patrons included boot camps for offenders, keeping children accountable through a truancy service to take them to school, and punishing parents for their children’s actions.

The Nationals have committed to Fagin’s Law, which if the party forms government would result in adults who coerce children into committing crimes receive a jail sentence of up to 15 years.

The law already exists in other parts of the country, including Victoria and South Australia.

Ms Warr said she was hearing firsthand the crime situation locally had not improved.

“People in Geraldton tell me everyday that crime is getting worse,” she said.

“The system is failing both victims and young offenders.

“Kids caught up in crime need intervention and support, not to be used as disposable pawns by adult criminals.”

The party said creating generational change was important, with Mr Love saying there was a cycle that needed to be broken.

The Nationals recently committed $140 million to combating crime, which included $40m towards a youth diversion strategy State-wide and on-country diversion programs in regional WA.

Labor has also committed to intervention, pledging $7.8m towards the On Track to Thrive program.

If elected, the pilot program would be launched in Geraldton, focusing on children under the age of criminal responsibility and putting in place programs and intervention to spark change.