Thursday 6 October 2022 03:37 AM Police commissioner Karen Webb says children used in crime, mourns death of ... trends now
Children are being used by criminal gangs to commit crime with kids stealing cars and gloating about their exploits on social media, a police chief has warned, amid the mysterious death of a 12-year-old boy.
Australian teenagers are now being swept into organised crime networks with widely circulated videos promoting serious criminal behaviour online, New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb said.
Young people are easily influenced by videos shared online and crime gangs are exploiting their vulnerabilities, including telling them to climb through doggie doors to rob homes, Commissioner Webb told the Today show on Thursday morning.
It comes after the mysterious death of 12-year-old Wayne Russell, who was found with extensive injuries near Wollongong about 2am on Tuesday morning.
Paramedics found him at what is believed to be a friend's address after being dropped off in a silver car, he was later taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.
There are also concerns about the hashtag 'creeping while you're sleeping' – predominately used to show underage motorists driving cars at night – as it continues to go viral on TikTok.
New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb (pictured) has established a new youth crime task force as police and parents express concern for the recent surge in youth crime and online 'bragging'
'It concerns me greatly and the commissioners right across Australia that we've got young people as young as 12, under 12, being involved in crime,' Commissioner Webb said as she launched a new youth crime task force.
'Whether that's youth crime gangs coming together, young kids coming together using knives, or whether that's young people breaking into cars, stealing cars, joy riding and using social media platforms to record their exploits and then brag about (them).
'And that's creating a movement. So other kids are doing it.'
Concerning online trends promote videos of teenagers appearing to drive around stolen cars in the early hours of morning, with some even boasting about news reports covering teenage crashes.
Commissioner Webb said stamping out youth car-boosting is particularly important for police, as young drivers pose a huge threat to communities.
A stolen black Holden Barina crashed into a traffic light at Towradgi, in Wollongong, south of Sydney, in the early hours of Tuesday
