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West Australian
4 days ago
- Politics
- West Australian
‘Turning them into criminals': Mum's desperate plea for youth crime crackdown as Premier responds
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has responded to a mother's desperate pleas for harsher youth crime penalties, over fears her teenage son might kill someone, or lose his own life without harsher sentencing. The woman - known only as Stacey - told The Courier Mail she feels the government's focus on Adult Time, Adult Crime laws don't work and the problem instead lies with the judicial system. She said her 14-year-old son had been a regular visitor to court for the past three years for breaking into homes, stealing cars and abusing drugs. Stacey claims her child walked away with a slap on the wrist each time. 'I've told the judge in court. I've told the police, I've told everyone that it's not going to end until he kills someone or he kills himself,' Stacey told The Courier Mail. 'We are turning them into criminals by not punishing them. 'It's like parents not disciplining their kids – and it's worse because they have the authority to do something.' '…When they go to court now, the judge might talk about adult time for adult crime – but it never happens. She said the current judicial outcomes are not working, and by letting them off time after time allows the youth offenders to 'get better' at crime by understanding how to 'work the system'. 'When you just keep letting them out, they get smarter and they figure out that they need to leave one car here, and one car here, and another here,' she said. 'They get better at what they do. How is that helping?' Speaking on Today on Monday morning, Mr Crisafulli said the first round of the Adult Crime, Adult Time laws were passed just before Christmas - resulting in youth offenders facing tougher consequences for 13 offences. A second round of tougher penalties passed on May 22, expanding the offence list to that of 33, including attempted murder, sexual assault, and aggravated attempted robbery. He said Stacey's story was 'heartbreaking' 'It's a cry for help from someone who wants more,' Mr Crisafulli told the program. 'We're about to go out in our first budget in the largest investment in early intervention and rehabilitation, and we're finally seeing police numbers get back up off the canvas. 'Some of the reoffending rates are starting to come down – we've had a fall in the first quarter in things like break and enter as well as stolen cars. 'We're certainly not celebrating, there's a long way to go and if further changes are needed, and we believe there are, you bet they will happen because we are not going to keep living through the youth crime crisis that we've inherited from ten years of weaker laws and fewer police.' The provision that says detention has to be a last resort has been removed, he added. 'We've got two focuses,' Mr Crisafulli said. 'The first is on early intervention. We've got to stop kids like this falling through the cracks. 'Then at the other end, you need stronger laws and you need consequences for actions. 'Otherwise, that merry-go-round just keeps going round and round and round.'
Perth Now
4 days ago
- Politics
- Perth Now
Mum's desperate youth crime plea
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has responded to a mother's desperate pleas for harsher youth crime penalties, over fears her teenage son might kill someone, or lose his own life without harsher sentencing. The woman - known only as Stacey - told The Courier Mail she feels the government's focus on Adult Time, Adult Crime laws don't work and the problem instead lies with the judicial system. She said her 14-year-old son had been a regular visitor to court for the past three years for breaking into homes, stealing cars and abusing drugs. Stacey claims her child walked away with a slap on the wrist each time. Stacey's 14-year-old son has seen in the inside of a courtroom 10 times over the last three years on a variety of charges. NewsWire / Glenn Campbell Credit: News Corp Australia 'I've told the judge in court. I've told the police, I've told everyone that it's not going to end until he kills someone or he kills himself,' Stacey told The Courier Mail. 'We are turning them into criminals by not punishing them. 'It's like parents not disciplining their kids – and it's worse because they have the authority to do something.' '…When they go to court now, the judge might talk about adult time for adult crime – but it never happens. She said the current judicial outcomes are not working, and by letting them off time after time allows the youth offenders to 'get better' at crime by understanding how to 'work the system'. 'When you just keep letting them out, they get smarter and they figure out that they need to leave one car here, and one car here, and another here,' she said. 'They get better at what they do. How is that helping?' Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said Stacey's story was 'heartbreaking' and said the upcoming budget would prioritise early intervention and rehabilitation for youth crime. NewsWire/Tertius Pickard Credit: News Corp Australia Speaking on Today on Monday morning, Mr Crisafulli said the first round of the Adult Crime, Adult Time laws were passed just before Christmas - resulting in youth offenders facing tougher consequences for 13 offences. A second round of tougher penalties passed on May 22, expanding the offence list to that of 33, including attempted murder, sexual assault, and aggravated attempted robbery. He said Stacey's story was 'heartbreaking' 'It's a cry for help from someone who wants more,' Mr Crisafulli told the program. 'We're about to go out in our first budget in the largest investment in early intervention and rehabilitation, and we're finally seeing police numbers get back up off the canvas. Mr Crisafulli said the first round of the Adult Crime, Adult Time laws were passed just before Christmas - resulting in youth offenders facing tougher consequences for 13 offences. NewsWire/Tertius Pickard Credit: News Corp Australia 'Some of the reoffending rates are starting to come down – we've had a fall in the first quarter in things like break and enter as well as stolen cars. 'We're certainly not celebrating, there's a long way to go and if further changes are needed, and we believe there are, you bet they will happen because we are not going to keep living through the youth crime crisis that we've inherited from ten years of weaker laws and fewer police.' The provision that says detention has to be a last resort has been removed, he added. 'We've got two focuses,' Mr Crisafulli said. 'The first is on early intervention. We've got to stop kids like this falling through the cracks. 'Then at the other end, you need stronger laws and you need consequences for actions. 'Otherwise, that merry-go-round just keeps going round and round and round.'
West Australian
26-05-2025
- West Australian
Strange images emerge of car connected to missing Bundaberg teen
The car central to the investigation of missing Gin Gin teenager Pheobe Bishop has reappeared on the streets of Bundaberg with a noticeable modification. A grey Hyundai ix35 with Queensland registration 414 EW3, which police believe was the car the 17-year-old travelled in before her suspicious disappearance, has been spotted on the streets of Bunbaberg with what appears to be modified number plates. Images of the car obtained by The Courier Mail show that the number plate has been modified with black electrical tape and maroon paint to change the appearance of the registration from 414 EW3 to 474 BW8. NSW appears to be handwritten on the plates in black ink despite the original plates being registered to Queensland. The image shows the Hyundai logo covered over by a makeshift Toyota emblem. Queensland Police have been contacted for comment. Police have regularly appealed to the public for dashcam and CCTV footage of the Hyundai – owned by Ms Bishop's flatmate Tanika Bromley – near the Airport Dr and Samuels Rd area in Bundaberg and also the Gin Gin area on May 15. They have now urged anyone who sighted the car from May 15 to 18 in the greater Gin Gin area to contact police. The car, along with a property in Gin Gin where Ms Bishop was staying before her disappearance, were both declared active crime scenes. CCTV footage posted online on Sunday showed a grey Hyundai ix35 – the same car model police allege Ms Bishop travelled in on the day of her disappearance – driving along a backstreet of Gin Gin. The CCTV footage was timestapped 10.30am May 15 – two hours after Ms Bishop was alleged to have been dropped to Bundaberg Airport to fly to Brisbane. The video has since been deleted by the original poster. The bizarre images have emerged as police continue to search the greater Good Night Scrub National Park and the Gin Gin areas for Ms Bishop. Police recently expanded the operation after they found evidence may have been moved from the Good Night Scrub area, prior to their arrival. Some items of interest have been located during the search and will undergo forensic examination. Specialist police, including the dog squad, have been deployed as the investigation continues.
Daily Mirror
26-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
Airport riddle emerges as missing teen's final phone call with boyfriend shared
Pheobe Bishop, 17, was last seen leaving a home in Queensland on May 15 and was supposed to board a flight to meet her boyfriend, but has since been missing and new details have emerged Teenager Pheobe Bishop has been missing since May 15, and an investigation is underway to help trace her. Details of her last movements have since emerged, including her phone call with her boyfriend and chilling CCTV footage. The 17-year-old was last seen leaving her home in Gin Gin, Queensland, on May 15, before disappearing without a trace. Pheobe, who had been residing with the couple, Tanika Bromley and James Wood, was believed by police to have been scheduled to board an 8.30am flight to Brisbane, then onto Perth to meet her boyfriend. Detectives have suggested that the pair drove Pheobe for 40 minutes to Bundaberg Airport. The teenager was dropped off at the airport but never checked into her scheduled flight. The couple were questioned by police but were released without any charges being filed against them, and there is no suggestion they were involved in her disappearance. It is not clear why the teenager had been living with the couple, but social media posts she made before her disappearance suggested Pheobe had fallen out with her mum. READ MORE: Phoebe Bishop's brother asks heartbreaking question as hunt for missing teen continues Previously speaking about family life on social media, Pheobe said she didn't "see nor talk" to her mother, Kylie Johnson, anymore. She noted, "but it's better like this" and explained that she had been "in and out" of the home for years, but "this time we're not going back". Just moments before she was due to board the flight to Brisbane, Pheobe phoned her boyfriend. The Sun reported that a family member said: "She didn't check in for her flight to visit her boyfriend who she spoke to on the phone at 8.30am. "Her phone has been switched off from this point. She hasn't contacted anyone at all, no one has seen her." It has also been reported that none of her social media accounts have been active since she went missing. In addition, the last time she used her bank account was said to have been on May 14, the day before she went missing. Despite being 6ft tall and a teenager with red hair, she was never caught on CCTV. However, new CCTV footage emerged showing a car, similar to the one Pheobe had been travelling in before she vanished, driving through Gin Gin at 10.30am on the day she was last seen - two hours after the teen was thought to have been dropped off at the airport. The vehicle at the heart of this case is a Hyundai ix35 - owned by Bromley, according to The Courier Mail. On Friday, police also revealed that they had discovered an item of interest inside a national park. Police seized a grey Hyundai ix35 as part of their investigation and are appealing to the public for dashcam or CCTV footage which could help locate the teenager. Search dogs were also dispatched to comb the Good Night Scrub National Park, located just outside Gin Gin and approximately an hour's distance from where Pheobe was last reported to have been seen. Despite suggestions of a family rift, Pheobe's mum issued a heartfelt statement describing her daughter as the investigation into her disappearance continues. She said: "Who is Pheobe? Phee has always been strong willed and followed her own beat to life. I've always called her my 'Wild Gypsy Banshee'. "I've told everyone since Phee's birth that she's the one I always expected to call me from overseas saying, 'hey Mumzie mate; I'm in Amsterdam and checking in'. You can't tame Phee's spirit, empathy or fight for life. She is sassy, feisty and loves harder than anyone I've ever meet." Her mum noted that this disappearance was out of character and said: "Pheobe would never not touch base with the people she loves. She would never go this long without contacting someone or anyone. We are appealing to anyone who may have heard from Pheobe, or anyone who has information about where she may be, to please contact police."
Daily Record
25-05-2025
- Daily Record
Missing teen Pheobe Bishop case takes grim turn as new CCTV emerges
Pheobe Bishop, 17, has been missing since May 15. The desperate search for a missing teenage girl has taken a grim turn with the discovery of new CCTV evidence, as the case enters its ninth day. Australian Pheobe Bishop, 17, was last seen leaving her home in Gin Gin, in Queensland, on May 15 as she vanished without a trace. Pheobe, who had been living with couple Tanika Bromley and James Wood, is supposed to have boarded a 8.30am flight to Brisbane then onto Perth to meet up with her boyfriend. Investigators have suggested that the pair drove Pheobe for 40 minutes to Bundaberg Airport, however, new CCTV footage has emerged in her case, reports the Mirror. Although the teenager was dropped off at the airport, she never never checked into her scheduled flight. Police took the couple in for questioning but they were released and no charges have been filed against them. There is also no suggestion they were involved in her disappearance. New CCTV from 10.30am on the day she was last seen shows a car, similar to the one Pheobe had been travelling in before she vanished, driving through Gin Gin - two hours after the teen was thought to have been dropped off at the airport. The vehicle at the centre of this case is a Hyundai ix35 - owned by Bromley, according to The Courier Mail. Police also revealed, on Friday, that they had discovered an item of interest inside a national park. Police have seized a grey Hyundai ix35 as part of their investigation and have appealed to the public for dash cam or CCTV footage which could help find the teenager. Cadaver dogs were deployed to search through the Good Night Scrub National Park, just outside of Gin Gin, an hour away from where Phoebe was last seen. Detective Acting Inspector Ryan Thompson said: "Police are trying to nail down the timeline to where this vehicle has gone. We do have associates that are assisting police with our inquiries at the moment, and this is why we're trying to narrow down that timeline in relation to where Phoebe could be." The operation also involved members of the dive squad but no other items of interest have been revealed yet, according to the police. Pheobe's mum released a statement as officers began to search woodlands, saying: "Who is Pheobe? Phee has always been strong willed and followed her own beat to life. I've always called her my 'Wild Gypsy Banshee'. "I've told everyone since Phee's birth that she's the one I always expected to call me from overseas saying, 'hey Mumzie mate; I'm in Amsterdam and checking in'. You can't tame Phee's spirit, empathy or fight for life. She is sassy, feisty and loves harder than anyone I've ever met." Her mum revealed this disappearance was out of character and said: "Phoebe would never not touch base with the people she loves. She would never go this long without contacting someone or anyone. We are appealing to anyone who may have heard from Phoebe, or anyone who has information about where she may be, to please contact police." Although it is not exactly clear why the teenager had been living with the couple, social media posts were made before her disappearance suggesting Phoebe had fallen out with her mum. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community!
