Residents feel unsafe in their homes as crime triples in Queensland town of Wondai

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Residents in a small south Burnett town say they're desperate for a local police presence as crime rates surge. Offending has tripled in the town of Wondai since July, where people say they can't sleep at night.

Transcript

00:00UNWELCOME VISITORS, LEAVING LOCALS SHAKEN

00:07Ninety-year-old Eileen Beer lives across the road from the Wandai police station, but has

00:12had two cars stolen in less than a month.

00:15It really put me over the edge, really.

00:18It set me pretty badly.

00:21And she's not the only local allegedly a victim of crime.

00:24That was a car I was written off to.

00:26And it's cost me about $12,000, which I really can't afford.

00:30Your personal space, your own inner sanctum has been violated.

00:34Due to staffing issues, the town's police station has been unmanned since mid-December,

00:39with officers sent to nearby Mergen.

00:42Queensland Police data reveals Wandai's crime rate has tripled since July.

00:47It spiked in December, with 41 alleged offences recorded.

00:51I tried to get police and I couldn't get police, I couldn't get anybody.

00:55I sat for three and a half hours on the phone.

00:58Queensland Police have confirmed that six juveniles have already been arrested this

01:02year for offences across the South Burnet, although not all of them have been linked

01:05here in Wandai.

01:06The state government does concede that for their adult crime adult time laws to work

01:10to the fullest, more police resources are needed.

01:13We've got nurses who are trying to get to work and their cars are being stolen by these

01:16hardcore repeat juvenile offenders who think that the South Burnet is fair game.

01:21The government says additional police resources are targeting youth crime hotspots in the

01:26broader region, but Wandai residents are desperate for better protection.

01:31I'm not sleeping, it's two o'clock, three o'clock in the morning, I'm still wandering

01:35around, I just cannot sleep, I'm terrified.

01:39Officers are due back in town by the end of January.

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