Teen Thieves In Stolen Cars Cornered By Vigilantes In Cairns Carpark

Vigilantes cornered teen gang members on Wednesday around 7pm connected to an alleged theft of rental cars from an outlet in Cairns CBD.

Police have charged two boys and two girls involved in the theft of three Silver Toyota hatchbacks taken from Thrifty on the corner of Sheridan and Aplin Streets.

The brazen thieves were later found by a group of men who stopped the teenagers at the Hungry Jacks carpark in Smithfield.

Senior Constable Matt Cornish said they don’t condone any form of vigilantism and instead encourages the community to leave that activity to the police.

"We're the ones that are trained, we do it safely and if people just jump gun-ho into these kind of situations they can find themselves in a potentially dangerous situation and also open themselves up for criminal charges, which is obviously the last thing we want from a potentially good Samaritan"

- Snr Constable Matt Cornish

Shadow Police Minister Dale Last said it clearly shows the community's fed up with youth crime.

"It’s a sign of the anger in the community, the frustration in the community, the lack of action from the government in this space that people feel the need to take matters into their own hands"

- MP Dale Last

The latest push to change youth bail laws

All three Thrifty cars have been recovered, while a 15-year-old has been charged with 18 offences including burglary, trespass and wilful damage, and all four teens have been charged with offences related to unlawful use of a motor vehicle.

 Crimewatch Townsville

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