Residents in a small south Burnett town say they're desperate for a local police presence as crime rates surge. Offending has tripled in the town of Wondai since July, where people say they can't sleep at night.
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00:00UNWELCOME VISITORS, LEAVING LOCALS SHAKEN
00:07Ninety-year-old Eileen Beer lives across the road from the Wandai police station, but has
00:12had two cars stolen in less than a month.
00:15It really put me over the edge, really.
00:18It set me pretty badly.
00:21And she's not the only local allegedly a victim of crime.
00:24That was a car I was written off to.
00:26And it's cost me about $12,000, which I really can't afford.
00:30Your personal space, your own inner sanctum has been violated.
00:34Due to staffing issues, the town's police station has been unmanned since mid-December,
00:39with officers sent to nearby Mergen.
00:42Queensland Police data reveals Wandai's crime rate has tripled since July.
00:47It spiked in December, with 41 alleged offences recorded.
00:51I tried to get police and I couldn't get police, I couldn't get anybody.
00:55I sat for three and a half hours on the phone.
00:58Queensland Police have confirmed that six juveniles have already been arrested this
01:02year for offences across the South Burnet, although not all of them have been linked
01:05here in Wandai.
01:06The state government does concede that for their adult crime adult time laws to work
01:10to the fullest, more police resources are needed.
01:13We've got nurses who are trying to get to work and their cars are being stolen by these
01:16hardcore repeat juvenile offenders who think that the South Burnet is fair game.
01:21The government says additional police resources are targeting youth crime hotspots in the
01:26broader region, but Wandai residents are desperate for better protection.
01:31I'm not sleeping, it's two o'clock, three o'clock in the morning, I'm still wandering
01:35around, I just cannot sleep, I'm terrified.
01:39Officers are due back in town by the end of January.