The crimes committed by the gangs have become so out of control in the past two months that police have been forced to plead with parents to keep their children indoors at night to stop them causing trouble.

More than 50 incidents of property damage have been reported in the past two months, along with 29 break-ins, 23 cases of general theft and 21 reports of theft from motor vehicles.

Hills Murray local service area officer in charge Superintendent Tom Rieniets said although community members had witnessed many of these crimes and could confidently say youths were involved, problems had occurred in specifically identifying the individuals.

“Intelligence sources have confirmed the identified groups of youth, who are often seen together and who appear to be involved in a large amount of ongoing criminal activity, some of it quite serious,” Superintendent Rieniets said.

“These small groups of youth are tarnishing the good reputation of the community, by running amok and committing criminal acts at will.”

Superintendent Rieniets said some young offenders were of school age and quite often not at school when they should be.

“I urge parents to ensure all school-age children attend school as it is not only vital to their education but at the same time prevents children being at risk of associating with any undesirable characters or getting into bad habits,” he said.

A string of vandalism and property damage at Fraser Park Primary School, which has so far caused more than $50,000 damage, is just one example of the type of activity being reported.

The school has been vandalised 12 times since June and was hit again on Saturday night when several of its windows were smashed and a plasma screen television in one of its classrooms was damaged.

Superintendent Rieniets urged the community to be vigilant and report all criminal acts or any suspicious activity to police by phoning 131 444.

- Details: If community members are aware of any people involved in criminal activity they can contact Murray Bridge police on 8535 6020 or inform police anonymously if they wish through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

The glaring numbers...

The amount of crime reported in the Murray Bridge area over the past two months

AUGUST SEPTEMBER

Damage to motor vehicles 5 reports 10 reports

Graffiti 2 reports 6 reports

Theft (general) 13 reports 20 reports

Property damage 16 reports 35 reports

Break-ins 12 reports 17 reports

Theft from motor vehicles 14 reports 7 reports