Gangs of teenagers are breaking into houses, taking car keys and selling the stolen vehicles. A police strike force has been given extra powers to target the thieves.
Police are worried about gangs of teenagers – some including children as young as 11 – who are breaking into houses, taking car keys and selling the stolen vehicles for a few thousand dollars, sometimes to elder siblings and friends with connections to organised crime.
Several police sources with knowledge of the issue, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly, said the problem was intensifying and often involved offenders younger than the usual 16- and 17-year-olds. A breakdown by age shows a big increase in the number of 14-year-olds charged in the past five years with break and enter and motor vehicle theft .
There is debate over whether the age of criminal responsibility should be raised to 14, as early imprisonment raises the risk of reoffending. The boys have also been accused of break-ins around Kellyville, in the north-west; Longueville, on the north shore; and Russell Lea, in the inner west.In Sydney in August, a 13-year-old was arrested
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