'High-risk' youth bailed, police station vandalised in outback town
South Australia's police union has claimed a young repeat offender in Coober Pedy was unable to be fitted with an ankle monitor while on bail, calling on "urgent intervention" to bolster the town's "critically inadequate policing resources".
A high-risk youth was released on supervised bail without an ankle monitor in Coober Pedy, a remote outback town in South Australia. The Police Association of South Australia (PASA) has written to Deputy Premier Kyam Maher expressing concern over the town's chronic understaffing and the lack of proper monitoring for the youth. The union claims that the youth, with a history of offenses including trespass, motor vehicle theft, and bail breaches, should not have been released without monitoring given his extensive criminal record.
The incident occurred alongside an alleged attack on the local police station, where an intoxicated man smashed the front glass door. PASA president Wade Burns warned that the combination of understaffing and the inability to provide appropriate supervision poses a foreseeable risk to both police officers and the community. The union has previously lodged an Employment Tribunal claim against SA Police to address these issues, but their proposal was rejected due to the additional costs.
In response, the SA government has invested over $300 million in SA Police since 2022, aiming to improve frontline officer numbers and reduce crime rates. Despite the recent incidents, the Coober Pedy Retail, Business & Tourism Association maintains that the town is not living in fear of crime, emphasizing that thousands of visitors enjoy the town without issue.
Written by urgent.news from ABC News AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
