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Police in Western Australia's north say they deployed a stinger overnight to stop a stolen vehicle and arrested four female juveniles, with the community and government scrambling for solutions to the ongoing issue. The East Kimberley town of Kununurra, 3,000 kilometres north of Perth, has been propelled into the national limelight over the last week. Video footage of a police car being chased by a stolen vehicle made national headlines, before police revealed 17 juvenile arrests had been made in a 72-hour period in the town. Some of those arrested were as young as 10. The latest incident took place about 11.50pm on Sunday evening, with police saying they stopped a Toyota Hilux being driven erratically by using a tyre deflation device. Four female juveniles were taken into custody, but police did not reveal their ages. Community flags possible solutions Wunan Foundation executive chair Ian Trust said agencies and the community were not divided in wanting to find a solution to tackle youth crime. He said creating a night space "tailor-made to what we think is going to work in Kununurra", was a start. The state government has provided funding for a night space in the town, which is expected to be established by the end of 2026. But Mr Trust said the focus needed to shift from the juveniles to their entire families. "How do we help them to move forward and help their children as well?" he said. Mr Trust said there needed to be a short term and long term response. "You've got to have some immediate police response to keep the place safe," he explained. Tremane Baxter-Edwards, a youth leader in the East Kimberley, said he had experienced the complex social factors that played into youth crime when growing up. He said the answer was empowering the local community. "We don't need another program from Perth or Canberra, we need the community at the heart of everything we do," Mr Baxter-Edwards said. "It's easy to throw money or to give opportunities to people. But without the support, that's where it fails." Mr Baxter-Edwards said community and family support was needed to prevent youth offending. "A lot of these young people, they commit these crimes because they don't have the love and affection from family and that could be for a variety of reasons." Government looks to community, parents WA Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti said the state government wanted to partner with local organisations to provide "wrap-around services". "We continue to work on partnering with local community organisations to deliver services where young people can go somewhere, be safe and also then be supported," she said. Ms Saffioti said solving the issue was a challenge. "We do have a number of commitments we're working through, including for young people to be in a safe space, in particular at night," she said. "It's really about giving young kids a pathway they may not be exposed to in their home environment. And making sure that they can be kept occupied." Department of Communities Director-General Mike Rowe said helping parents with their children was "a whole-of-government responsibility". "Legislation puts the onus on parents, but we do accept many people, often through traumatic experiences of their own, are not great parents in and of themselves," he said. Mr Rowe pointed to the Night Place in Fitzroy Crossing as an example of a community program being successful. "That's an opportunity for young people to come to a safe place at night if they don't feel safe at home," Mr Rowe said. "[It is] to really try and get to the root cause of why young people might be acting out this way or why they might be on the streets at night." He said the Target 120 program was active in 20 places across WA, including Kununurra and had helped around 600 children since its implementation.
