A police car was allegedly rammed as a group of teens tried to avoid arrest. Photo: ACT Policing.
A 13-year-old boy is among eight teenagers who were arrested overnight during two separate incidents in the Territory.
Officer in Charge of Operation TORIC, Detective Inspector Shane Scott, said the first four were arrested after allegedly ramming a police vehicle with a stolen car in the west Belconnen area.
Officers located three stolen vehicles in Macgregor about 5 pm on Thursday (3 February), which they then staked out to see if anyone would return.
About 8:30 pm the four boys allegedly returned to the vehicles.
When officers attempted to stop them from driving off, it’s alleged the driver “side-swiped” the police vehicle before speeding off.
“The alleged driver is only 15 years old, and through his [alleged] actions, and his driving ability as he’s not licensed, has put the Canberra community at high risk, and that is something that we cannot allow,” he said.
“Obviously it does show these people have no regard for police or the safety of the public.”
The vehicle was chased on main arterial roads through Latham, Flynn, Fraser and Charnwood, with tyre-deflation devices deployed three times.
The four teens are accused of trying to flee on foot when the car stopped in Charnwood, where they were arrested.
Additionally, four other teens were arrested by Operation TORIC on Thursday for separate motor vehicle offences.
Police said three of these teens were on bail for previous offences relating to stolen motor vehicles, and two had received bail from the ACT Children’s Court on Friday 27 January.
It’s believed these four were also involved in related property crime as well.
Det Insp Shane Scott urged the community to report any suspicious activity to police. Photo: Claire Fenwicke.
Operation TORIC has reached the six-month mark, with 189 apprehensions and more than 450 charges laid.
“It’s been a busy 24 hours for ACT’s Operation TORIC,” Det Insp Scott said.
He reminded the community to get in touch if they saw anything suspicious.
“We are doing everything we can to put recidivist offenders before the court and will continue to do our best in keeping Canberra safe from these people,” Det Insp Scott said.
“If you think, ‘That person doesn’t look old enough to drive’ or the vehicle’s driving behaviours are erratic or give rise to suspicion, contact police and we can actually investigate it.”
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