Goondiwindi as the crow flies is four and a half hours west of Brisbane.
Close to 6000 people call it home, but many of them say they live in fear and are being held hostage by youth criminals.
“I get home from work at night and my eight-year-old wakes up terrified because she thinks someone’s breaking in, it’s heartbreaking,” resident Marlana Bishop said.
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In just the last seven days, there have been two violent break-ins, with windows of homes smashed, and vehicles stolen.
An elderly woman was pushed to the ground, with her keys and car stolen.
A teacher tried to defend himself and he was bashed in the mouth with a baton by thieves armed with machetes.
Many of the stolen cars from Goondiwindi end up in the NSW town of Boggabilla.
Footage captures a graveyard of destroyed stolen vehicles and burnt-down houses, all at the hands of teen criminals.
One of the major issues for police in Goondiwindi is the border with NSW.
Once offenders cross the line, officers have limited power to stop them.
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“They’ve wrecked the town completely,” resident Garry Roberts said.
9News invited anyone here in Gundy who had been affected by teen crime to meet in a park and tell their stories.
The response was overwhelming, with 150 locals telling their stories.
Graham Smith was bashed with golf clubs by youth offenders in a violent home invasion.
“One picked up a chair, like a big dining room chair and cracked that over me,” he said.
“In the middle of it, I thought I was done, to be honest.”
Young mother Sarah Jane Morris’ house was broken into while she was asleep inside.
She came face-to-face with the offenders who stole her keys and car.
“Due to having our car stolen and the stress of that, I miscarried,” she said,
Now the border town wants the premiers of both Queensland and New South Wales to come see for themselves.
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“Come to this town, go for a drive down just over the border, go and see how many burnt cars there are, ” Marlana Bishop said.
Premier Steven Miles said he was “aware of escalating crime” in the town.
“I understand police are responding, they’ve deployed additional police,” he said.
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