Four children charged after Kununurra dam crash as youth crime returns to spotlight

Youth crime in Western Australia’s north is again in the spotlight after four children were charged at the weekend for crashing a stolen car into a dam, alongside the emergence of social media videos allegedly showing children driving stolen vehicles.

Four children were charged at the weekend after they allegedly stole a car in Kununurra late on Friday night.

Police say the group stole a white Toyota Landcruiser just before midnight, and officers spotted the car driving past the Kununurra Airport right before it plunged into the nearby M1 channel of the Ord River irrigation system.

The car became submerged and the children were forced to climb out to escape.

Police said they arrested and charged the children at the scene.

They were taken to Kununurra Hospital for treatment, but suffered no injuries in the crash.

Police refused to disclose the ages of the children involved, but confirmed they were all under eighteen.

The latest incident comes after a series of videos were also posted to TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat throughout December, appearing to show children behind the wheel of what are alleged to be stolen cars.

It is unclear when the videos were taken but appear to be taken throughout Kununurra and Wyndham, with children piled into the cars and covering their faces with hoods.

The videos aren’t alleged to be those charged over the dam incident.

The WA government introduced new post and boast laws last year, which aim to punish the glorification of crime on social media platforms.

Proposed amendments to the laws are still being determined before they are passed.

Social media platforms are currently reliant on law enforcement bringing videos and accounts to their attention.

A TikTok spokesperson said there were mechanisms in place to stop the glorification of criminal activity online.

“Our strict community guidelines do not allow criminal or dangerous activities, including those involving theft,” he said.

“Where there is evidence of this, we will remove videos and can also ban accounts. All accounts escalated have been permanently banned for breaching our guidelines.”

A Meta spokesperson said the company had similar practices were in place.

“We use a combination of technology and reports from our community, law enforcement and regulators such as the eSafety Commissioner, and review by our teams to help us act,” they said.

“We have a law enforcement outreach team who engages with Australian law enforcement to understand trends, issues and concerns they have regarding content on our platforms, and we have a dedicated channel for law enforcement to flag content of concern.”

The latest incidents come after the WA government came under pressure late last year to deal with a spike in crime in the town, due to a number of high-profile incidents.

Footage taken from one of Kununurra’s main streets showed local police being chased by children in an allegedly stolen four-wheel-drive in October.

Just a week later, a number of teachers said they were being personally targeted in burglaries by locals who were aware of their work hours.

Some nurses and teachers have also been forced to barricade themselves inside their homes in some outer communities of the town.

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.