Kununurra crime wave: Premier Roger Cook backs earlier intervention to keep kids ‘safe, fed and busy’

Roger Cook has brushed off claims his ministers are at odds over how to treat juvenile offenders as he backed calls for “earlier” intervention for troubled youth in the Kimberley. The Premier returned from a four-day break on Thursday as police declared a flare-up of youth crime in Kununurra was now under control. Mr Cook said Police Minister Reece Whitby was right to prefer “a feed” and “a basketball” over detention for children as young as 10 years old who have been arrested — but denied it’s out of step with Paul Papalia, who said this week that some of them “belong in detention”. “This is a complex policy area, so simple solutions will not cut it,” Mr Cook said. “We know that we have to continue to ensure that we keep the community safe. That’s our highest priority. But we also need to make sure that we look after those kids as well. “We see programs such as in Fitzroy Crossing, which are really showing great promise. I want to replicate those sort of programs which are about keeping those kids safe, particularly at night. “Basketball is part of that, but it’s about securing them, keeping them secure, keeping them fed, keeping them busy and keeping them on the education pathway.” He said local solutions work best, but stopped short of promising Kununurra more funding. Labor Member for Kimberley Divina D’anna has backed plans for a $6 million Night Space in the town, but said solutions will take time. “I understand the community’s frustration,” she said. “Every person living in the Kimberley deserves to feel safe, including our young people. “We all want change and we are driving it with culturally appropriate responses. These are complex circumstances that require a coordinated, long-term, holistic approach.” Police Commissioner Col Blanch warned an increased police presence is only a “temporary solution” and support services, desperately needed after dark, are hard to staff after 5pm. The spotlight has been on the Kimberley town of Kununurra after footage emerged of a stolen vehicle chasing police officers sparked calls for intervention and re-enforcements. “We know we’ve arrested nearly over 30 kids in the last week for various offences, primarily car thefts and burglaries,” he said. “The last few nights have been extremely quiet, significant police on the roads, and I think the kids know we are there in big numbers, but, again, it doesn’t alleviate their home issues and some of the other social issues that they are dealing with on a daily basis. We keep (officers) up there as long as they are needed.” Mr Blanch said there needed to be a focus on the “early years” of children to stop the next generation of youth offenders. The State’s Chief Justice warned that there’s no “magic wand” and that detention sometimes does more harm than good. Chief Justice Peter Quinlan — who recently travelled to the Kimberley — said it was “very difficult to convey” the complexity of the cases magistrates deal with. “They are not soft,” he told ABC Radio, when asked about magistrates dealing with repeat offenders. “(Magistrates and judges) are people who are dedicated to working out what is in the best interest of the community, in the short, medium and long term and in relation to the offender and applying those legal principles that they have to apply now. “There are always going to be circumstances in which a particular decision might be criticised or controversial, but I think it’s important to remember that the vast majority of the work of those dedicated officers — no one hears about, no one sees.” Justice Quinlan said repeat youth offenders were “a relatively small cohort of kids” who were “really difficult to deal with.” “Passing a law is no substitute for a loving parent, a warm bed at night, things like that — try to work at that,” he said.