Three teenagers charged with stealing Liberal MP Merome Beard’s car and using it in bottle shop ram raid

A 12-year-old boy is the youngest of three juveniles charged with stealing an MP’s car and using it in a ram-raid on a liquor store. Nationals-turned-Liberal MP Merome Beard — who is contesting the seat of Mid West against Nationals leader Shane Love — had her Toyota Cruiser stolen about 2.50am on Monday, hours before pre-polling began. Carnarvon Detectives said the vehicle was then used to ram through the roller doors of a bottle shop, “causing extensive damage”. The juveniles then allegedly stole from the store, with police later finding the car abandoned in bushland in Grey Plains. Three boys — aged 12, 15 and 16 — have been charged over the incident. The 12-year-old received bail and will appear again in the Carnarvon Children’s Court on March 11. The older juveniles were set to face the same court on Tuesday, with the 16-year-old facing four counts of stealing a motor vehicle. Ms Beard on Monday told The West the crime left her “stranded” and said it highlighted the youth crime crisis in regional WA. “They’re a neglected group of children, obviously from dysfunctional households without basic support, often in substandard housing,” she said. “They’re roaming the streets, and there must be consequences. We need to ask where are the parents who are responsible adults and where are the government agencies to help them.” But on Tuesday, Police and Corrective Services Minister Paul Papalia scoffed at suggestions the Liberals had the solutions to youth crime. The Liberals were in Kalgoorlie on the same day announcing a package including $2 million for planning two on-country Juvenile Rehabilitation Centres, likely in the Kimberley and the Goldfields. “The Liberals are offering to shut Unit 18, let the worst juvenile criminals in Western Australia go camping,” Mr Papalia said, in reference to the on-country diversion measure. “That is their solution to crime in Western Australia.” Ms Mettam said the measure was about ensuring on-country locations for disengaged youth “to look at better ways to address these issues before youth crime becomes a much more serious concern”. The Liberals have said they will close Unit 18 at Casuarina adult men’s prison — where the most troubled youth detainees are kept — and put them back at Banksia Hill Youth Detention centre in temporary facilities until a new maximum security centre is built. Anyone with information relating to the theft of Ms Beard’s car or the robbery of the store is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report it online at www.crimestopperswa.com.au.