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Police are worried about gangs of teenagers – some including children as young as 11 – who are breaking into houses, taking car keys and selling the stolen vehicles for a few thousand dollars, sometimes to elder siblings and friends with connections to organised crime.
Statistics show a significant rise in the number of 14-year-olds facing legal proceedings over breaking into houses in the past five years, and an increase in the number of 11 to 14-year-olds facing action over vehicle theft.
Strike Force Sweetenham officers were called in after occupants fled a single-vehicle crash on Windsor Road in Norwest, near Castle Hill.Credit: Nine News
A strike force, Sweetenham, has been given extra powers to target and investigate the thefts amid police concern about the dangers of unlicensed minors driving stolen cars, particularly after a series of crashes involving teenagers.
On Monday, the strike force’s officers charged two 16-year-olds and a 15-year-old with almost 20 break-in and car theft offences between them.
Several police sources with knowledge of the issue, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly, said the problem was intensifying and often involved offenders younger than the usual 16- and 17-year-olds.
One said police believed some vehicles had been used in gangland assassinations. The sources were unclear about the reasons behind the increase; one possibility is that teens became disengaged with school during COVID-19 lockdowns.
Sweetenham was set up in 2021 to target young people from around Sydney who were stealing high-performance cars.
One of the sources close to the strike force said its brief had now shifted from chiefly intelligence gathering to a more proactive approach, which involved targeting, investigating and assessing the risk of the alleged offenders.
Statistics from the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) show charges against under-18s were at a five-year high for theft and a seven-year high for break and enter in 2022.
A breakdown by age shows a big increase in the number of 14-year-olds charged in the past five years with break and enter (from 137 to 216) and motor vehicle theft (94 to 247).
A group of teenagers aged between 13 and 17 were allegedly spotted rocketing down the Great Western Highway, near Eastern Creek, in a stolen Toyota Kluger before it crashed.Credit: Nine
While break-in charges for 11- to 13-year-olds have remained stable, the BOCSAR statistics show increases in the number of 11- to 14-year-olds police took action against relating to motor vehicle theft (MVT).
The number of 11-year-olds facing legal proceedings in relation to MVT rose from four in 2018 to 12 in 2022, while the number of 13-year-olds jumped from 49 to 107.
In NSW, children under 10 cannot face criminal proceedings. Prosecutors need to prove that those aged between 10 and 13 knew what they were doing was seriously wrong.
There is debate over whether the age of criminal responsibility should be raised to 14, as early imprisonment raises the risk of reoffending.
Police are worried underage car thefts will result in more accidents involving unlicensed, inexperienced teen drivers, such as a fatal one in Victoria where a 15-year-old girl died when a stolen car, allegedly driven by a 14-year-old, hit a truck in June.
Late last week, Sweetenham officers were called in after occupants fled a single-vehicle crash on Windsor Road in Norwest, near Castle Hill.
They searched two properties at Constitution Hill and seized car keys and mobile phones, before arresting three teenagers, two aged 16 and one aged 15, and charging them with breaking into properties and riding in cars without permission.
The boys have also been accused of break-ins around Kellyville, in the north-west; Longueville, on the north shore; and Russell Lea, in the inner west.
A white BMW crashed in Seaforth after being used as part of a break and enter by teenagers.
In Sydney in August, a 13-year-old was arrested after police attempted to stop a suspected stolen Volkswagen that smashed in Fairfield. The driver and a second passenger, both suspected to be about the same age, fled the scene.
In Sydney in mid-April, a group of teenagers aged between 13 and 17 were allegedly spotted rocketing down the Great Western Highway, near Eastern Creek, in a Toyota Kluger stolen from the harbourside suburb of Lilyfield.
The SUV hit a semi-trailer on the M7 motorway and the five girls ran into nearby bushland, before police arrested them. Four, aged between 13 and 15, were released with a caution.
The driver, aged 17, was bitten by a police dog and hospitalised before being charged with a series of offences, including driving on the road despite never being licensed. She was already on bail for a similar offence when the car was allegedly stolen.
“We’ve got this next generation coming through that are engaging in a whole range of serious criminal activity, not only a harm to themselves but to members of the community that may be using the roads,” Assistant Commissioner Brett McFadden said at the time.
In April last year, two teenagers were allegedly spotted by police cruising through the northern beaches in a stolen ute before taking off on foot. A 17-year-old girl was arrested, but the 16-year-old boy drove off in a BMW stolen earlier that night.
The BMW, with police in chase, crashed through a storefront window in Seaforth before the boy was arrested and charged with multiple offences, including drug offences.
BOCSAR statistics paint a mixed picture of under-age offending trends.
Across all offences, court actions dropped for 16- and 17-year-olds in the five years to 2022, grew for 14- and 15-year-olds, and remained stable for 11-, 12- and 13-year-olds. There were 44 10-year-olds who went to court, more than double the next highest tally, which was 21 in 2018.
Cautions dropped in the 16- and 17-year-old bracket, remained stable for 15-year-olds, grew for 14- and 13-year-olds, and remained stable for 10-, 11- and 12-year-olds, the BOCSAR data shows.
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