Call for early intervention programs to fight youth crime epidemic
Cairns Police Department Senior Sergeant Kelly Chamberlain says early intervention is the 'absolute key' in easing Australia's youth crime crisis.
As the founder of PCYC's diversion-based program 'After Dark', Ms Chamberlain is providing a safe environment for 11 to 17-year-olds, hoping to steer them on the right path.
'If we can prevent young people from starting to make those poor choices early, then eventually we are going to get to the point where the increases in crime start to slow down,' she said.
'We all know it's never ever going to completely stop, but what we want is obviously this epidemic that's going through the whole of Australia, not just Cairns, to slow down significantly, and the only way is through early intervention – starting younger and younger.'
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The Age
08-06-2025
- The Age
The moment NSW's youth crime wave shocked top cop
'My heart goes out to our police facing the dilemma of trying to protect the community and enforce the law at the same time in what is more often than not youth with complex backgrounds.' Pisanos had deployed a disruptive taskforce, known as Operation Soteria, which turns anti-gangland tactics against ringleaders of violent, repeat-offending youth gangs. One of the boys in the Bourke crash was a Soteria target, who had tried to separate himself but been pulled back into the mix. 'It's a deadly business, and the stakes are high,' Pisanos said. Teenagers are stealing guns, leading police on high-speed chases, and even helping in underworld hits – all for online clout – in a shocking crime wave across Sydney and the NSW regions. But as police lock up ringleaders, and services try to reach vulnerable youths, indifferent social media giants are refusing to do their part to end the violence. Youth crime has been changing over the decade. Car theft is up 160 per cent, domestic violence and sexual crimes have spiked by about 30 per cent, and residential break-and-enters have risen by 15 per cent. But some cohorts of repeat offenders are also becoming increasingly violent, according to a NSW parliamentary inquiry into community safety, which released its recommendations last week. Some are considered so dangerous that support programs are refusing to take them in. Pisanos rattles off programs he's been plugging police into – Youth Action Meetings, PCYC, even the NRL, to help lower-risk teenagers cut ties with the violent criminal influences Soteria is targeting. 'We know we can't police our way out of the deeper issues, but we have to balance community safety,' Pisanos said. 'No PCYC program will help some of these people who have entrenched violent behaviour.' This week a school cleaner in Moree was allegedly confronted by two teenagers, one armed with a tomahawk, who robbed her for her car. They allegedly crashed the vehicle minutes later. Three days earlier, also in Moree, a group of teenagers allegedly broke into a home and stole a ute. Police threw road spikes under the speeding vehicle and grabbed the 14-year-old driver, along with his three passengers aged 14, 12, and 11. Loading Social media video, obtained by the Herald, shows children in another high-speed chase in the state's west, blasting rap music in a stolen car as sirens flash behind them. In yet another video, children point hunting rifles at one another and throw gang signs with the message '2830 on top' in an apparent reference to the Dubbo postcode. A third video shows children flashing knives at a terrified couple in bed during a break-and-enter. The common thread is what police have come to call 'post and boast', where youngsters film and share their criminal exploits online. A police delegation last year showed such videos to the foreign tech companies that run social media in Australia, asking to expand the definition of 'harmful content'. 'The videos weren't at the extreme end of horror, but they were at the extreme end of influence,' Pisanos said. 'This is the stuff that influences lives and decisions and, ultimately, community safety.' One video showed teenagers in a high-end Mercedes, stolen from Sydney's east, hitting 280km/h in a police chase before crashing. But because most post-and-boast videos didn't show actual violence, the tech companies concluded they do not breach their terms of use. 'They're just not at the table, it's challenging,' Pisanos said. Instead, police are moving their own technology – facial recognition and other secretive software – to monitor social media in real-time. The videos aren't just used to boost notoriety; they have a retraumatising effect on victims and a copycat effect on susceptible followers, Pisanos said. 'We are seeing extreme right-wing groups recruiting young men through hypermasculine messaging, and see it play out in this violence,' Pisanos said. 'It's absolutely chilling. And it's not just kids in Brewarrina or Dubbo or Moree, it's kids in the eastern suburbs.' Last week, police charged a 16-year-old boy with delivering a 'kill car' to a hit squad in Guildford. Police allege the car was to be used by an underworld gang – a fully loaded assault rifle, pistol, and jerry can were stashed inside.
Sydney Morning Herald
08-06-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
The moment NSW's youth crime wave shocked top cop
'My heart goes out to our police facing the dilemma of trying to protect the community and enforce the law at the same time in what is more often than not youth with complex backgrounds.' Pisanos had deployed a disruptive taskforce, known as Operation Soteria, which turns anti-gangland tactics against ringleaders of violent, repeat-offending youth gangs. One of the boys in the Bourke crash was a Soteria target, who had tried to separate himself but been pulled back into the mix. 'It's a deadly business, and the stakes are high,' Pisanos said. Teenagers are stealing guns, leading police on high-speed chases, and even helping in underworld hits – all for online clout – in a shocking crime wave across Sydney and the NSW regions. But as police lock up ringleaders, and services try to reach vulnerable youths, indifferent social media giants are refusing to do their part to end the violence. Youth crime has been changing over the decade. Car theft is up 160 per cent, domestic violence and sexual crimes have spiked by about 30 per cent, and residential break-and-enters have risen by 15 per cent. But some cohorts of repeat offenders are also becoming increasingly violent, according to a NSW parliamentary inquiry into community safety, which released its recommendations last week. Some are considered so dangerous that support programs are refusing to take them in. Pisanos rattles off programs he's been plugging police into – Youth Action Meetings, PCYC, even the NRL, to help lower-risk teenagers cut ties with the violent criminal influences Soteria is targeting. 'We know we can't police our way out of the deeper issues, but we have to balance community safety,' Pisanos said. 'No PCYC program will help some of these people who have entrenched violent behaviour.' This week a school cleaner in Moree was allegedly confronted by two teenagers, one armed with a tomahawk, who robbed her for her car. They allegedly crashed the vehicle minutes later. Three days earlier, also in Moree, a group of teenagers allegedly broke into a home and stole a ute. Police threw road spikes under the speeding vehicle and grabbed the 14-year-old driver, along with his three passengers aged 14, 12, and 11. Loading Social media video, obtained by the Herald, shows children in another high-speed chase in the state's west, blasting rap music in a stolen car as sirens flash behind them. In yet another video, children point hunting rifles at one another and throw gang signs with the message '2830 on top' in an apparent reference to the Dubbo postcode. A third video shows children flashing knives at a terrified couple in bed during a break-and-enter. The common thread is what police have come to call 'post and boast', where youngsters film and share their criminal exploits online. A police delegation last year showed such videos to the foreign tech companies that run social media in Australia, asking to expand the definition of 'harmful content'. 'The videos weren't at the extreme end of horror, but they were at the extreme end of influence,' Pisanos said. 'This is the stuff that influences lives and decisions and, ultimately, community safety.' One video showed teenagers in a high-end Mercedes, stolen from Sydney's east, hitting 280km/h in a police chase before crashing. But because most post-and-boast videos didn't show actual violence, the tech companies concluded they do not breach their terms of use. 'They're just not at the table, it's challenging,' Pisanos said. Instead, police are moving their own technology – facial recognition and other secretive software – to monitor social media in real-time. The videos aren't just used to boost notoriety; they have a retraumatising effect on victims and a copycat effect on susceptible followers, Pisanos said. 'We are seeing extreme right-wing groups recruiting young men through hypermasculine messaging, and see it play out in this violence,' Pisanos said. 'It's absolutely chilling. And it's not just kids in Brewarrina or Dubbo or Moree, it's kids in the eastern suburbs.' Last week, police charged a 16-year-old boy with delivering a 'kill car' to a hit squad in Guildford. Police allege the car was to be used by an underworld gang – a fully loaded assault rifle, pistol, and jerry can were stashed inside.
The Advertiser
06-06-2025
- The Advertiser
Mum and son to spend decades in jail for 'cold-blooded' murder of teen
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains the name and image of a person who has died. More than three years ago, the family of an 18-year-old Indigenous teenager made a Facebook group titled 'Justice for Taj Hart' after he was brutally murdered in broad daylight. On June 6, his relatives and friends wore t-shirts emblazoned with the same slogan as they packed out a Wollongong courtroom, where his killers Katie Walmlsey and her son Jayden Walmsley-Hume were sentenced to decades in jail. "I hope they rot in hell," Mr Hart's grandmother Glenda Hart said, relieved with the judge's sentence. Walmsley-Hume, 21, fidgeted throughout the hearing and received a jail-term of 23 years and six months, while Walmsley, 41, sat stone-faced and received a jail-term of 21 years and six months. Justice Robertson Wright described the murder as a "cowardly and cold-blooded attack" that "brutally cut short" Mr Hart's life. The court heard Mr Hart was walking along Old Southern Road in South Nowra to meet up with a friend on February 24, 2022, when Walmsley-Hume swerved his ute seven metres off the road to hit him. Walmsley, sitting in the passenger seat, was heard declaring to her son "we got him good" after the grill smashed Mr Hart's torso from behind, causing his body to bend over the bonnet. "They did not stop, they did not call an ambulance," Justice Wright said. A woman who was picking her daughter up at the nearby school rushed to Mr Hart's aid, pulling an identification card out of his bag so she could call him by his name in his final moments. Severely injured, Mr Hart was taken to Shoalhaven Hospital, but he could not be saved. Walmsley and Walmsley-Hume were arrested at a Sydney motel on April 7, 2022 after they fled the Shoalhaven. Justice Wright said there had been "growing animosity" between Mr Hart's friend group and Walmsley-Hume in the months leading up to the hit-and-run. There were a number of fights, one at a park and another at a PCYC, in which Walmsley-Hume "came off second best". In January 2022, Walmsley-Hume attempted to stab Mr Hart after he ambushed him at his grandmother's house. Walmsley-Hume was left with a broken elbow after Mr Hart hit him with a pole in self-defence. Walmsley-Hume said "you're dead" before he left the scene. The judge said this threat was of particular significance given the offender "saw an opportunity to act on the desire" to have Mr Hart gone the following month. Justice Wright said Walmsley had participated in some of the feuds involving her son. "Both mother and son were on the lookout for an opportunity to enact the revenge they wanted," the judge said. Walmsley participated in Mr Hart's murder by hanging out the window of the ute to locate him, failing to stop and render aid, and telling her son "we got him good". The offenders had pleaded not guilty to murder, but were found guilty by a jury following a four-week Supreme Court trial. Justice Wright extended the court's sympathy to Mr Hart's family and friends, describing the teenager as a "loving son and grandson" with a "bright future". "His family feels as if their lives have been shattered," the judge said. "It's important to acknowledge that the death of Mr Hart was a personal and human tragedy." The judge factored Walmsley-Hume's difficult upbringing into his sentence, including him being introduced to cannabis at age 9, meth at 12, and heroin by his father at 13. He continued to use drugs until his arrest and had also been punished in custody for possessing illicit substances and weapons. The court accepted he had expressed remorse and attempted to seek assistance for his drug addiction. The judge took into account Walmsley's depressive disorder, epilepsy, and cannabis use disorder, with the court hearing she struggled with heavy drinking after the deaths of several family members. He could not accept she had shown any remorse. Walmsley-Hume will become eligible for release in April 2038, while his mother will become eligible the year prior. Mr Hart's family smiled and held hands as the sentence was handed down. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains the name and image of a person who has died. More than three years ago, the family of an 18-year-old Indigenous teenager made a Facebook group titled 'Justice for Taj Hart' after he was brutally murdered in broad daylight. On June 6, his relatives and friends wore t-shirts emblazoned with the same slogan as they packed out a Wollongong courtroom, where his killers Katie Walmlsey and her son Jayden Walmsley-Hume were sentenced to decades in jail. "I hope they rot in hell," Mr Hart's grandmother Glenda Hart said, relieved with the judge's sentence. Walmsley-Hume, 21, fidgeted throughout the hearing and received a jail-term of 23 years and six months, while Walmsley, 41, sat stone-faced and received a jail-term of 21 years and six months. Justice Robertson Wright described the murder as a "cowardly and cold-blooded attack" that "brutally cut short" Mr Hart's life. The court heard Mr Hart was walking along Old Southern Road in South Nowra to meet up with a friend on February 24, 2022, when Walmsley-Hume swerved his ute seven metres off the road to hit him. Walmsley, sitting in the passenger seat, was heard declaring to her son "we got him good" after the grill smashed Mr Hart's torso from behind, causing his body to bend over the bonnet. "They did not stop, they did not call an ambulance," Justice Wright said. A woman who was picking her daughter up at the nearby school rushed to Mr Hart's aid, pulling an identification card out of his bag so she could call him by his name in his final moments. Severely injured, Mr Hart was taken to Shoalhaven Hospital, but he could not be saved. Walmsley and Walmsley-Hume were arrested at a Sydney motel on April 7, 2022 after they fled the Shoalhaven. Justice Wright said there had been "growing animosity" between Mr Hart's friend group and Walmsley-Hume in the months leading up to the hit-and-run. There were a number of fights, one at a park and another at a PCYC, in which Walmsley-Hume "came off second best". In January 2022, Walmsley-Hume attempted to stab Mr Hart after he ambushed him at his grandmother's house. Walmsley-Hume was left with a broken elbow after Mr Hart hit him with a pole in self-defence. Walmsley-Hume said "you're dead" before he left the scene. The judge said this threat was of particular significance given the offender "saw an opportunity to act on the desire" to have Mr Hart gone the following month. Justice Wright said Walmsley had participated in some of the feuds involving her son. "Both mother and son were on the lookout for an opportunity to enact the revenge they wanted," the judge said. Walmsley participated in Mr Hart's murder by hanging out the window of the ute to locate him, failing to stop and render aid, and telling her son "we got him good". The offenders had pleaded not guilty to murder, but were found guilty by a jury following a four-week Supreme Court trial. Justice Wright extended the court's sympathy to Mr Hart's family and friends, describing the teenager as a "loving son and grandson" with a "bright future". "His family feels as if their lives have been shattered," the judge said. "It's important to acknowledge that the death of Mr Hart was a personal and human tragedy." The judge factored Walmsley-Hume's difficult upbringing into his sentence, including him being introduced to cannabis at age 9, meth at 12, and heroin by his father at 13. He continued to use drugs until his arrest and had also been punished in custody for possessing illicit substances and weapons. The court accepted he had expressed remorse and attempted to seek assistance for his drug addiction. The judge took into account Walmsley's depressive disorder, epilepsy, and cannabis use disorder, with the court hearing she struggled with heavy drinking after the deaths of several family members. He could not accept she had shown any remorse. Walmsley-Hume will become eligible for release in April 2038, while his mother will become eligible the year prior. Mr Hart's family smiled and held hands as the sentence was handed down. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains the name and image of a person who has died. More than three years ago, the family of an 18-year-old Indigenous teenager made a Facebook group titled 'Justice for Taj Hart' after he was brutally murdered in broad daylight. On June 6, his relatives and friends wore t-shirts emblazoned with the same slogan as they packed out a Wollongong courtroom, where his killers Katie Walmlsey and her son Jayden Walmsley-Hume were sentenced to decades in jail. "I hope they rot in hell," Mr Hart's grandmother Glenda Hart said, relieved with the judge's sentence. Walmsley-Hume, 21, fidgeted throughout the hearing and received a jail-term of 23 years and six months, while Walmsley, 41, sat stone-faced and received a jail-term of 21 years and six months. Justice Robertson Wright described the murder as a "cowardly and cold-blooded attack" that "brutally cut short" Mr Hart's life. The court heard Mr Hart was walking along Old Southern Road in South Nowra to meet up with a friend on February 24, 2022, when Walmsley-Hume swerved his ute seven metres off the road to hit him. Walmsley, sitting in the passenger seat, was heard declaring to her son "we got him good" after the grill smashed Mr Hart's torso from behind, causing his body to bend over the bonnet. "They did not stop, they did not call an ambulance," Justice Wright said. A woman who was picking her daughter up at the nearby school rushed to Mr Hart's aid, pulling an identification card out of his bag so she could call him by his name in his final moments. Severely injured, Mr Hart was taken to Shoalhaven Hospital, but he could not be saved. Walmsley and Walmsley-Hume were arrested at a Sydney motel on April 7, 2022 after they fled the Shoalhaven. Justice Wright said there had been "growing animosity" between Mr Hart's friend group and Walmsley-Hume in the months leading up to the hit-and-run. There were a number of fights, one at a park and another at a PCYC, in which Walmsley-Hume "came off second best". In January 2022, Walmsley-Hume attempted to stab Mr Hart after he ambushed him at his grandmother's house. Walmsley-Hume was left with a broken elbow after Mr Hart hit him with a pole in self-defence. Walmsley-Hume said "you're dead" before he left the scene. The judge said this threat was of particular significance given the offender "saw an opportunity to act on the desire" to have Mr Hart gone the following month. Justice Wright said Walmsley had participated in some of the feuds involving her son. "Both mother and son were on the lookout for an opportunity to enact the revenge they wanted," the judge said. Walmsley participated in Mr Hart's murder by hanging out the window of the ute to locate him, failing to stop and render aid, and telling her son "we got him good". The offenders had pleaded not guilty to murder, but were found guilty by a jury following a four-week Supreme Court trial. Justice Wright extended the court's sympathy to Mr Hart's family and friends, describing the teenager as a "loving son and grandson" with a "bright future". "His family feels as if their lives have been shattered," the judge said. "It's important to acknowledge that the death of Mr Hart was a personal and human tragedy." The judge factored Walmsley-Hume's difficult upbringing into his sentence, including him being introduced to cannabis at age 9, meth at 12, and heroin by his father at 13. He continued to use drugs until his arrest and had also been punished in custody for possessing illicit substances and weapons. The court accepted he had expressed remorse and attempted to seek assistance for his drug addiction. The judge took into account Walmsley's depressive disorder, epilepsy, and cannabis use disorder, with the court hearing she struggled with heavy drinking after the deaths of several family members. He could not accept she had shown any remorse. Walmsley-Hume will become eligible for release in April 2038, while his mother will become eligible the year prior. Mr Hart's family smiled and held hands as the sentence was handed down. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains the name and image of a person who has died. More than three years ago, the family of an 18-year-old Indigenous teenager made a Facebook group titled 'Justice for Taj Hart' after he was brutally murdered in broad daylight. On June 6, his relatives and friends wore t-shirts emblazoned with the same slogan as they packed out a Wollongong courtroom, where his killers Katie Walmlsey and her son Jayden Walmsley-Hume were sentenced to decades in jail. "I hope they rot in hell," Mr Hart's grandmother Glenda Hart said, relieved with the judge's sentence. Walmsley-Hume, 21, fidgeted throughout the hearing and received a jail-term of 23 years and six months, while Walmsley, 41, sat stone-faced and received a jail-term of 21 years and six months. Justice Robertson Wright described the murder as a "cowardly and cold-blooded attack" that "brutally cut short" Mr Hart's life. The court heard Mr Hart was walking along Old Southern Road in South Nowra to meet up with a friend on February 24, 2022, when Walmsley-Hume swerved his ute seven metres off the road to hit him. Walmsley, sitting in the passenger seat, was heard declaring to her son "we got him good" after the grill smashed Mr Hart's torso from behind, causing his body to bend over the bonnet. "They did not stop, they did not call an ambulance," Justice Wright said. A woman who was picking her daughter up at the nearby school rushed to Mr Hart's aid, pulling an identification card out of his bag so she could call him by his name in his final moments. Severely injured, Mr Hart was taken to Shoalhaven Hospital, but he could not be saved. Walmsley and Walmsley-Hume were arrested at a Sydney motel on April 7, 2022 after they fled the Shoalhaven. Justice Wright said there had been "growing animosity" between Mr Hart's friend group and Walmsley-Hume in the months leading up to the hit-and-run. There were a number of fights, one at a park and another at a PCYC, in which Walmsley-Hume "came off second best". In January 2022, Walmsley-Hume attempted to stab Mr Hart after he ambushed him at his grandmother's house. Walmsley-Hume was left with a broken elbow after Mr Hart hit him with a pole in self-defence. Walmsley-Hume said "you're dead" before he left the scene. The judge said this threat was of particular significance given the offender "saw an opportunity to act on the desire" to have Mr Hart gone the following month. Justice Wright said Walmsley had participated in some of the feuds involving her son. "Both mother and son were on the lookout for an opportunity to enact the revenge they wanted," the judge said. Walmsley participated in Mr Hart's murder by hanging out the window of the ute to locate him, failing to stop and render aid, and telling her son "we got him good". The offenders had pleaded not guilty to murder, but were found guilty by a jury following a four-week Supreme Court trial. Justice Wright extended the court's sympathy to Mr Hart's family and friends, describing the teenager as a "loving son and grandson" with a "bright future". "His family feels as if their lives have been shattered," the judge said. "It's important to acknowledge that the death of Mr Hart was a personal and human tragedy." The judge factored Walmsley-Hume's difficult upbringing into his sentence, including him being introduced to cannabis at age 9, meth at 12, and heroin by his father at 13. He continued to use drugs until his arrest and had also been punished in custody for possessing illicit substances and weapons. The court accepted he had expressed remorse and attempted to seek assistance for his drug addiction. The judge took into account Walmsley's depressive disorder, epilepsy, and cannabis use disorder, with the court hearing she struggled with heavy drinking after the deaths of several family members. He could not accept she had shown any remorse. Walmsley-Hume will become eligible for release in April 2038, while his mother will become eligible the year prior. Mr Hart's family smiled and held hands as the sentence was handed down.
