By GEORGIA WESTGARTH
FOR more than eight months Casey families have been falling victim to teenage thieves, and new crime figures reveal some are as young as 10 years old.
The statistics paint a shocking truth, that youths are committing violent acts of home invasion, theft and assault at alarming rates across the south-east.
It comes after targeted police units swooped to arrest multiple teens with alleged involvement in the Apex gang, accused of a series of car thefts, aggravated burglaries, break and enters and brawls in recent weeks.
At least 20 teens from across the outer south-east region have been processed by police in relation to the spate of menacing, violent crimes.
Last year’s figures reveal offenders aged 10 to 14 committed more than double the number of burglaries and break-ins, compared to 2014.
Home invasions committed by youths aged 15 to 19 were also up 24 per cent on the previous year.
But the majority of robberies committed in 2015 were by offenders aged 15 to 19, with the number of baby-faced thieves tripling since 2014.
Assault and related offences by youths has also surged in the past two years with a jump of 11 per cent in the age category 20 to 24.
Last month, Detective Sergeant Ivan Bobetic from the Dandenong Embona Taskforce said this type of offending had been occurring for “18 months to two years”.
“The level of violence and lack of contrition is alarming for their ages – it seems they have no concept of what they are doing, conscience for the victims or they simply don’t care,” Det Sgt Bobetic said.
