Ipswich locals call for crackdown on youth crime after fatal stabbing

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Ipswich residents are calling for more action on youth crime following the death of 70-year-old Vyleen White last week. The grandmother was stabbed while grocery shopping on Saturday and now a 16-year-old boy has been charged with her murder.

Transcript

00:00 Ipswich residents are calling for greater action on youth crime in the wake of the death

00:06 of Violene White in Ipswich last weekend.

00:09 The 70-year-old grandmother was stabbed to death in the car park of this shopping centre

00:13 on Saturday evening.

00:15 A 16-year-old has been charged with her murder is now going through the court system.

00:19 But residents say this area has long been unsafe.

00:23 They pointed to the fact that a local police beat closed down here in November 2022.

00:28 Now police have stationed mobile policing resources here at the shopping centre for

00:32 the rest of the week.

00:33 They also say the decision to close down that local police beat was made in consultation

00:38 with local staff and community representatives.

00:40 Either way, locals are not happy with the situation here in Ipswich and they're calling

00:45 for more action.

00:46 Here's what a few of them had to say earlier.

00:47 Over the past week when you have some politicians saying that this has never happened before,

00:54 that this is new and that this doesn't happen in Redbank Plains and that this doesn't happen

00:59 in Ipswich, but the truth is that it does.

01:03 And it's become more frequent.

01:05 It has become more violent.

01:07 So what are parents to do to prevent these children from behaving this way when there

01:13 is nothing the youth justice minister office can even offer me to support?

01:18 I ask for...

01:19 Now it's important to note that this community event was organised by a local council candidate.

01:24 There are upcoming local government elections here in Queensland.

01:28 There was also a local community event held here in Ipswich last night with police, the

01:33 Australian African community and also the family of Violene White.

01:37 They're calling for more action on youth crime as well and they're also calling out vigilante

01:41 attacks against African Australians in the community.

01:44 Now this is all part of a huge debate here in Queensland about youth justice and calls

01:50 for greater action on crime prevention.

01:52 The government has been grilled over its handling of youth justice in the past couple of days

01:56 and there are calls for the Premier Stephen Miles to take an even harder line on youth

02:01 offenders.

02:02 This is a really big topic here in Queensland, especially leading into the state election

02:06 later this year.

02:07 So I'm sure this will be the last time that we're talking about youth justice and youth

02:11 crime.

02:11 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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