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

In the early hours of Christmas Eve, five children are rummaging through a car parked in a driveway at Wondai, in South Burnett, Queensland.

Their movement activates the house’s security light and camera and the children quickly flee, but not before two of their faces are caught on film.

For about 2,000 Wondai residents, this activity has become increasingly common.

Wondai is a rural town located 230 kilometers northwest of Brisbane, in a cattle and grain producing area. The timber industry played an important role in its early settlement and the town has a timber museum.

Crime in the country town has tripled from 13 offenses in July to 41 in December, including property offenses such as trespassing, theft, unlawful use of a motor vehicle and arson, according to Queensland Police.

The new LNP government was elected on a promise to make Queensland a safer place, with its new “adult crime, adult time” laws passed in its first six weeks.

But with the Wondai police station understaffed, locals are worried that crimes will become more serious and frequent.

‘I just can’t sleep’

One of those locals is Eileen Beer, 90, who was enjoying her move to a retirement unit opposite the police station until two cars were stolen within a month.

Disturbed by the first case, the second robbery put her “over the edge.”

“I’ve showered many times and I still feel dirty because I don’t know where or how much they really touched me,” she said.

“Now I don’t sleep… at two, three in the morning I’m still wandering.

Beer said the intruders left a knife and a screwdriver in her unit, a disturbing sight for the mother of eight.

He said his fellow aged care residents had also experienced crime.

“We are all old ladies and we are locked up as if we were in Fort Knox,” she said.

“We barely talk to each other because we are not willing to go out in case they are around.”

Surveillance ‘without borders’

The Wondai police station can accommodate two officers but, due to staffing issues, resources were transferred to the nearby Murgon police station in mid-December and were due to return at the end of January.

A Queensland Police Service spokesperson said the number of general duty staff at a particular station cannot be a true reflection of staffing resources.

“This borderless policing model ensures our workforce is agile and adaptable and that officers are no longer restricted to a static location.”

But Wondai resident Sue Hullock, who has had two cars stolen from her home in the past 18 months, said the presence of local police was essential.

“If we had a police presence here, that would make things better,” he said.

“It cost me about $12,000, which I really can’t afford.”

Mr Hullock said residents were having trouble reporting crimes to Policelink and wanted to be able to call a local officer.

“It won’t be long before someone is really hurt.”

‘More needs to be done,’ says Attorney General

The issue is personal for Queensland’s new Attorney-General and Justice Minister Deb Frecklington, who, as the member for Nanango, represents the South Burnett community where this crime wave has occurred.

“We have nurses who are trying to go to work and their cars are stolen by these repeat juvenile offenders who think South Burnett is fair game,” he said.

He said police were working overtime to catch “hardcore youths” with Taskforce Guardian in South Burnett.

The task force is a joint effort of Youth Justice and the Queensland Police Service with the aim of focusing on youth crime hotspots.

“Six juveniles have been arrested (this year) and refused bail, so they are on remand at the moment… and hopefully we can catch the rest,” Ms Frecklington said.

Despite the efforts, Frecklington admitted that the police needed more resources.

“More needs to be done because if we have police on the ground, children can be arrested if they have done something wrong,” he said.

He urged the community to ensure any crime was reported to the police.

Alarming “increase in crime”

South Burnett Mayor Kathy Duff said that as authorities addressed the issue, she understood why the “increase in crime” concerned Wondai residents.

“I think people are concerned because Wondai has always been known for being a wonderfully safe place and to have that kind of increase in crime is alarming for the community,” he said.

That has been the case for Neville and Lynette, who have lived in Wondai for 15 years.

The couple, who asked that their last name be withheld for safety reasons, love their small town but said the crime had them “on edge.”

Six years ago, their car was stolen and their house was ransacked.

They suffered another robbery 12 months ago and another attempted robbery six weeks ago.

“It’s a terrible feeling when your personal space, your own inner sanctum, has been violated, uninvited,” Neville said.