A YEAR ago a 10-year-old boy was charged with burning down the Pioneer Police Beat.
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The crime was acknowledged by assistant commissioner Paul Taylor as “the straw that broke the camel’s back” as it happened in the aftermath of increased concerns of juvenile crime in the community.
An additional 30 police officers were flown in from Townsville and Cairns as part of Operation Respect, and regular taskforce meetings in Mount Isa among department director-generals and cabinet ministers were held to target local youth crime.
Children are children, they are curious. It’s not acceptable but my belief was it was blown way out of proportion, and the victim in this was Mount Isa itself."
- Mayor Joyce McCulloch
The outcome and sentence for the 10-year-old boy in the closed Mount Isa Magistrates Court was never revealed to the public. The Department of Justice and the Attorney-General was requested information on the result of the boy’s sentence.
A department spokesperson said the boy was charged and dealt with under the Youth Justice Act of 1992.
“Due to the court making a closure order under the Act, it is not possible to provide further information about the matter,” the spokesperson said.
Mayor Joyce McCulloch said the burning down of the police beat had not been “unusual” in comparison to other crimes across the country.
“It’s unfortunate that it happened, but if we were to look around Australia, around communities, that sort of stuff happens all the time.
“Because children are children, they are curious. It’s not acceptable but my belief was it was blown way out of proportion, and the victim in this was Mount Isa itself.”
In previous years Mount Isa mayors have considered the merits of an imposed youth curfew. Councillor McCulloch did not believe it a solution, but instead supported “proper parenting”.
“We have got a lot of agencies in Mount Isa funded to deal with youth, and those agencies have come to the understanding there is not a lot of communication or cooperation between the agencies, and they’ve all outlined that themselves.”
The mayor said the initial roundtable formed after the fire was not as effective as it could have been because the community did not support it. It was revitalised under the Regional Managers Coordination Network (RMCN) which was chaired by Mount Isa Police Superintendent Kev Guteridge. The network was in the middle of strategic planning.
