Hoons are firmly in the sights of city officials.
And the first thing on the agenda is to take away the tools that drive their toys.
A city taskforce with the aim to keep clowns away from the steering wheel is looking to pay businesses to puncture old tyres.
That way, they say, secondhand tyres are less likely to make their way into the hands of idiots who pollute neighbourhood streets.
Logan City Council led the charge at a meeting last week, endorsing a full Hooning Action Plan.
The plan aims to work with police and the Transport and Main Roads Department to tackle hooning.
Police have successfully tapped into public footage of hoons to arrest those creating danger to communities. There have been a number of publicly-assisted arrests throughout the suburbs of Logan in recent months.
Hooning taskforce chair Jacob Heremaia said two early measures to combat illegal behaviour would be better signage and grants to help local businesses puncture old tyres.
That way, they wouldn’t make their way into the hands of hoons for illegal activity.
“By helping to cut off the supply of old tyres used by hoons, our streets and neighbourhoods will be safer,” Cr Heremaia said.
He said the taskforce had identified five priority areas to address in relation to hooning.
“These priorities have now formed the basis of an action plan that is bringing everyone to the table to fight this ongoing issue in the community,” he said of the first meeting.
The five key areas are:
- Advocacy
- Enforcement
- Education
- Technology
- Target hardening
The actions to tackle hooning will be divided into two phases to be delivered over 18 months.
Hooning Taskforce deputy chair Tim Frazer said an external evaluation of the taskforce would also be an important element.
“We will look to find a partner to evaluate the actions of the taskforce and make any recommendations to ensure what we’re doing is working for the community,” he said.
Fellow deputy Tony Hall said stamping out hooning required a holistic approach.
“We know that CCTV cameras aren’t effective in preventing hooning but there are other things that can be done to deter this illegal behaviour,” he said.
“It’s important that we’re all working together to address an issue that’s of concern to many residents.”
Council allocated $250,000 in the budget to help stop hooning on local streets.
