Police, public send message to teen thugs
- Nikkii Joyce
- 7th August 2008
Police near Chalk Drive after youths found fighting.
A GROUP of Toowoomba teenagers involved in a brawl at Chalk Drive were yesterday described as “thugs” and “mindless sheep”.
The description came from one of several members of the public who contacted The Chronicle yesterday.
The group apparently roamed the city in search of a premeditated brawl on Tuesday.
Two juvenile girls were arrested during the confrontation on charges of failing to co-operate with police.
Callers to The Chronicle expressed concerns that teenage violence had risen to new levels in Toowoomba.
One distressed father contacted The Chronicle yesterday concerned that the 15-year-old son he hasn't seen since April had been photographed being detained by police.
“These kids are out of control and they're doing things I would never have dreamed of doing for fear of punishment,” he said yesterday after it was confirmed the boy was not his son.
Another caller, who wished to remain anonymous, called those involved in the fight “thugs” and the large number of spectators who went in search of the organised brawl “nothing more than mindless sheep”.
Police have refuted claims of “gang” violence in the city, saying the term is too loosely associated with teenage gatherings.
Toowoomba Police Child Protection Investigation Unit (CPIU) officer-in-charge Darren Lees said police received information from an unknown source of a planned brawl after 1pm.
Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Lees said the actual fight between a small number of people was little more than “a couple of boys taking off their shirt and giving each other a bit of a shove”.
He said a larger number of teenagers were reported to have arrived at the Chalk Drive Skate Park as spectators for the much-hyped confrontation.
“These kinds of altercations happen in every city, every day of the week - they are part of life,” Det Snr Sgt Lees said.
“I would say that the term 'gang' is thrown around a little too freely. Just because there are a group of teenagers at the skate park doesn't make them a gang of teenagers.”
Det Snr Sgt Lees said members of the public had nothing to fear from any such fights.
“These types of altercations are very serious and police will throw the full force of the law at people who behave in this manner. People have the right to go about their business without having these disruptions.”
