A Sunshine Coast radio host says a confronting incident at her home has completely shifted her perspective on youth crime – and left her feeling hopeful about the role good parenting can play in breaking the cycle.
Mix FM breakfast presenter Annabelle “AB” Brett, who co-hosts with Mark Darin, shared the story on air, explaining that it began when her neighbour warned her about an attempted break-in on Sunday afternoon.
“She showed me the footage and there’s a kid with a balaclava on … trying to forcefully open her door,” AB said.
“She was inside having a shower at the time, she didn’t realise but the camera captured it.”
Checking their own home security cameras, AB and her husband Alex discovered a boy approaching their Warana house at 3.40pm, looking at the front door before he was disturbed and quickly ran away.
AB reported the footage to Crime Stoppers and posted it in a local community group as a warning to neighbours.
But what happened next was unexpected.
“We got a knock on the door from a boy who looked a lot like the boy in our video, and his mum and dad, and they were distraught,” AB said.
“They said, ‘This is our son. We saw your post. He was the kid in the video. He wants to apologise to you.’”
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AB described the parents as “wonderful people” who were “really, really trying to do the right thing” and hold their son accountable.
“They promised he’s a really good kid, he’s just gotten mixed up with the wrong kids. He’s made a mistake,” she said.
While the boy told his parents it was meant to be a “ding-dong dash”, AB explained the neighbour’s footage showed it wasn’t so harmless – but the important thing was the way the parents dealt with it.
“It’s that reminder that not every kid that’s doing the wrong thing has bad parents,” she said.
Mr Darin, who acknowledged the Warana community was still reeling from the alleged murder of resident Zed Bilic last month, believed meeting face-to-face may help prevent any escalation of issues.
“This is where good parents step in,” he said. “I’m convinced it’s very hard to steal from someone you know. It’s very hard to harass a neighbour you know.
“They’ve just broken that cycle of not knowing.”
The incident also prompted messages to AB from other local parents who suspected their own children might have been involved in dangerous behaviour.
“I’m just devastated that there’s so many good parents and it’s still happening to them,” she said.
“I just want all those parents to know they’re wonderful and they’re doing a good job and they’re trying their best.
“My heart broke for these two parents. They were trying so hard to make their child realise the consequences of his actions and to own up to it. I can’t even imagine how hard it would be for them.”
Mr Darin added: “I don’t think locking everybody up the second they put a foot out of line is the solution. I do feel that we’re going that way again.
“I think the answer is exactly what you’ve done. We can’t just give up and lock them up.”
Queensland Police were contacted for comment.
