Advertisement

Teen gang on rampage in Broome

Teen gang on rampage in Broome

Broome is in the grips of a youth crime wave amid a spate of arson attacks blamed on a teen gang terrorising an area dubbed The Bronx, Kimberley MP Josie Farrer says.

Locals fear arson has become a form of initiation for entry to the Bill Boys gang after scooters, cars and even a house were set alight.

Ms Farrer wrote to Premier Colin Barnett and the Police, Housing and Corrective Services ministers asking for help to clean up The Bronx.

She said it had also been the scene of violent home invasions.

Yesterday, Ms Farrer said she was concerned Aboriginal teens would fall into the gang if moved from traditional lands to Broome under a foreshadowed shake-up of remote communities.

"A group of young fellas, they call them the Bill Boys, have been involved in very up-front and daring episodes," she said.

"They've burned a house in Broome. They've also been into thieving, they've been stealing cars. You name it, whatever goes.

"If the Government is saying they need people to move into towns, this is the sort of problems people are faced with."

Ms Farrer said not all members of the gang were Aboriginal but all were "unsettled kids".

"I think there is this anger. A lot of the kids say they are bored with the social life in some of these towns," she said.

In her letters, Ms Farrer called for better street lighting in The Bronx, an area of "Old Broome" bounded by Milner, D'Antoine, Kerr and Dora streets and intersected by Anne Street.

She invited Mr Barnett to go to Broome to spearhead a Government strategy to combat antisocial behaviour.

A spokeswoman for Mr Barnett said police were addressing the issue through the introduction of a community relations officer in Broome and targeted programs run with the Department of Housing and Shire of Broome.

A WA Police spokeswoman said local police were aware of the gang and were monitoring it. Any criminal activity would be investigated.