A Brisbane homeowner has spoken publicly after his Holland Park property was targeted for the sixth time, with security footage allegedly capturing children as young as 10 years old being used to help adults gain entry to his home while his family — including a nine-month-old baby — slept inside.
Jack Bruce was woken in the middle of the night by an intrusion alert from his security system, only to discover the latest in a troubling series of incidents at his property. Footage from his cameras appears to show young children vaulting a wall and then opening a gate to allow adults to follow them inside the property.
Children Allegedly Exploited to Bypass Home Security
Speaking publicly the morning after the incident, Bruce described both his frustration and his alarm at what the footage appeared to show — particularly the apparent use of very young children as tools to circumvent security measures that adults could not.
"I was quite disappointed last night after this had occurred because it really puts a big burden on us to be consistently making sure that we're dotting our i's and crossing our t's with the house every single night," Bruce said.
He explained that the pattern he had observed across multiple incidents pointed to a deliberate tactic, with an adult appearing to direct younger accomplices.
"It does seem to be each time there's definitely some adult leading, and then the teenagers and the kids are then used, or they help to then gain access and steal things," he said.
While Bruce said he had previously noticed young people involved in incidents at his home, this was the first occasion he had clearly identified children of such a young age playing a direct role. "It's at a state where there's clearly really little kids involved, and they're actually being used to gain access to areas that adults can't and then let the adults in," he said.
Holland Park: A Relatively Low-Crime Suburb Facing Repeated Targeting
The ongoing incidents are particularly striking given that Holland Park is considered one of the safer suburbs in Brisbane, scoring a relatively low crime ranking of just 10 out of 100 on one national crime mapping tool. Despite that, 68 burglaries or break-and-enter offences were recorded in the suburb across 2025 in Australia, underscoring that even lower-crime areas are not immune to repeat targeting.
For Bruce and his family — which includes a 10-year-old child and a nine-month-old baby — the cumulative toll of six separate incidents has made what should be a safe family home feel like a constant source of stress and vigilance.
Community Response: Neighbourhood Alert Network
In response to the repeated targeting of his property and the broader concern for his street and surrounding area, Bruce has taken matters into his own hands by establishing a neighbourhood group chat. The group allows local residents to quickly alert one another when suspicious individuals are spotted returning to the area, creating an informal early-warning network designed to complement existing security systems.
Despite having what he described as a comprehensive security setup, Bruce acknowledged that technology alone had not been enough to deter offenders, and that community cooperation had become an essential part of protecting his home and his neighbours'.
The case highlights growing concerns about the pressures Australian homeowners face in safeguarding their properties, and raises serious questions about the welfare of the young children allegedly being drawn into criminal activity.
