ACT Policing have finally revealed their bold plan to tackle an unprecedented rise in damage to public sports and recreation areas.
The operation commencing on Friday is designed to address growing concerns in the community about anti-social behaviour from motorcycles, e-bikes, e-scooters, and cars, as well as illegal vehicles.
Some stations have even opted to fight fire with fire, by purchasing e-bikes to help in the operation. They will not be permitted to ride across sportsgrounds, but it still gives authorities greater access to public spaces that cars can't get to easily.
Police will aim to issue on-the-spot fines, seize vehicles and charge culprits as part of the operation, with other options available to educate young people on rules.
The operation will see police prioritise attention across its multiple departments to the issue, and will also seek assistance from the public to help report and identify people responsible for damaging grounds or displaying anti-social behaviour while riding the vehicles.
Police Chief Scott Lee said recent incidents were "disgraceful" and "extremely unsafe". He was confident that operations with greater police visibility and when resources are prioritised did result in changed behaviour, whether involving children or adults.
"This operation will be led by our road policing command, and it will involve officers across all of our general duty stations, our intelligence command, our online reporting portal, our communications area, and other other specialist units, as we need to," Lee said.
"It's around how we prioritise our resources right across ACT Policing to target to target this behaviour and enforce this within our community over the coming weeks."
"With the targeted police operation there will be enforcement activity, but also we want to ensure that there's an opportunity for us to work with parents and with families for education and awareness - a real prevention aspect," he added.
Lee was sympathetic to junior athletes and families that have witnessed or been impacted by behaviour like the incident at Hawker, Giralang and Bonython, where groups of young people on e-bikes and motorbikes roared through matched during play, and shared concern that dangerous situations could escalate.
The police boss also said youth offending rates were "a concern and also a priority".
"The impact on the people that experience that behaviour I don't think can be understated, both for the players themselves, but also their families, when there is a real concern for safety, and whether someone will be either seriously injured or killed," he said.
Tuggeranong United president Stan Mitchell welcomed the police crackdown and had a message for would-be culprits.
"Stay away from all grounds. Behave, be sensible, and be prepared to cop the consequences if you're going to be stupid," he said.
"Also to our community, get involved, and if you see it, report it, because it's the only way we'll deal with it."
Mitchell has needed an army of volunteers spreading 10 tonnes of sand onto damaged turf in addition to ACT Sportsgrounds' repairs across fields at Wanniassa that were targeted by vehicles in recent months.
Because of the damage that includes tyre marks at least five centimetres deep, two fields used by the club have been ruled out for six weeks from soccer play, impacting hundreds of people in the southside community alone.
"This is completely unacceptable behaviour," Police Minister Marisa Paterson said on Friday morning.
"The damage around Canberra has been extensive, and the implications of that damage have been huge in terms of impacting local sports participation.
"Police will be investigating these ongoing issues, and will be out and about patrolling the community, and ensuring that this behaviour doesn't continue."
ACT Policing confirmed that only one vehicle seizure has occurred, with an illegal, unregistered and unroadworthy motorbike ridden by a 16-year-old boy near Holt sports fields confiscated by officers at Melba shops on May 30. Other investigations are ongoing.
La Trobe Park in Deakin was the most recent public ground targeted by vandals, with tyre marks strewn through the damaged soggy grass.
Paterson called it "disgraceful, reckless and selfish", and it follows shocking incidents involving cars, motorcycles and e-bikes at Wanniassa, Hawker, Giralang, Melba, Holt and Banks.
At a recent sports forum attended by multiple codes that use public facilities across the capital, many complaints emerged of further incidents of groups of motorised bike riders causing trouble.
The damage caused to grounds does not just make the turf unsafe and difficult to repair in Canberra's current cold and wet conditions, it also robs people of the opportunity be active through sports and recreation.
Several soccer clubs have had to cancel games in recent months because of the damage done to their sportsgrounds, impacting hundreds of players, officials, volunteers and families.
Other anti-social behaviour on legal and illegal vehicles has included harassment, verbal abuse and theft of equipment, but when members of the public confront culprits, they often ride away and escape any consequences.
The growing list of incidents has led to concerns that vigilantism could come next unless police crack down on the behaviour.
"These facilities belong to our whole community. The damage caused costs taxpayers thousands of dollars to repair while making these spaces unusable for everyone else," Paterson said of the Deakin incident.
"This behaviour is not harmless fun. It is criminal damage, it puts people at risk."
Witnesses are encouraged to report emergencies by calling 000, or for non-urgent matters to contact ACT Policing on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
