Aggie Riley is no longer surprised when she arrives at her waterfront shop to find shards of broken glass everywhere, graffiti on the walls or things missing.
The Hervey Bay business owner has had her car and e-bike rental shop on Queensland's Fraser Coast targeted six times in the past year, leaving her wondering whether staying in the area is worth it.
"I'm sick and tired of fixing the mess that they make," she said.
"We have learned when someone rings in the middle of the night … you know who they are — they are the cops."
Ms Riley is among dozens of frustrated business owners renewing their calls for more police resources to combat an increase in youth crime in the Wide Bay-Burnett region.
Queensland Police Service (QPS) data showed there were 51 reported juvenile offenders for robbery in the region 2022, compared to nine in 2012.
Juvenile unlawful entry offences increased from 83 to almost 150 over the same decade.
Detective Acting Inspector for the Wide Bay-Burnett district Cameron Schneider said police were targeting known juvenile offenders by maintaining a visible presence in crime hotspots.
"I do want to highlight that a lot of our repeat juvenile offenders are a small number of people committing extremely serious and violent offences," he said.
No quick fix
According to the QPS statistics, more than 400 juveniles were reported for assault offences in the Wide Bay-Burnett in 2022.
Detective Acting Inspector Schneider said there was no "one size fits all" approach to fix the issue.
"Each youth offender has different backgrounds and different reasons for offending … so there is no real, one-stop shop to fix it," he said.
For another Hervey Bay business owner, Chris Bye, not much has changed in the past six months since he organised a committee of 28 businesses on the Fraser Coast to call for more police resources.
"I have very nearly given up on it … it just falls on deaf ears," he said.
Mr Bye's shop on the esplanade has been broken into three times.
"Every time, the insurance has gone up, the premiums have gone up. I've been left with damage, and I haven't been able to trade," he said.
"I've got a business and I either need to run it or I need to shut it down."
Social services key
Detective Acting Inspector Cameron Schneider said police were working with partner agencies and local communities to tackle underlying factors, including substance abuse, domestic violence, and dysfunctional family dynamics.
"We understand all the dynamics involved and we're trying to address them," he said.
The Bundaberg Salvation Army's Major Chris Millard has been supporting local young people in crisis situations for more than 20 years.
He said better access to social services would help reduce the risk of youth crime in underprivileged areas.
"We've got to build relationships with young people," he said.
"If there's stuff going on at home, we need to help them find safe and supported ways."
Housing crisis contributing
Ms Riley said it was taking authorities "too long" to fix the problem and she wanted to see youth offenders and their parents held more accountable for the damage caused.
She estimates her business had lost more than $20,000 to repairs and loss of products.
"Everybody's just fed up," she said.
"From little business to big business, the cost associated with all the breaking in is just not on."
Major Millard said the housing crisis and rising cost-of-living were making the problem worse.
"It really saddens me that kids can get so desperate that they have to resort to criminal activities to try to get ahead," he said.
"Young people don't always have good and bad choices in front of them — sometimes, they have a bad choice and an even worse choice."
