Kids as young as 10 on joyride rampages Lachlan Cain, 15, died when he was a passenger in a stolen car that crashed into a guard rail at North Lakes Source: The Courier-Mail TEENAGE joyriders are competing to steal the newest and most expensive cars and are posting photos of their exploits on Facebook. Police say children as young as 10 are getting behind the wheel of stolen cars as they vie for bragging rights over friends. Youth joyriding is behind a spate of crashes and there are fears of more deaths following two fatal accidents last month. Acting Chief Superintendent Jim Keogh from Brisbane's Metro South police region said almost three in every four people caught were repeat offenders. The theory behind it is these young people are identifying the car they want to take and then endeavouring to get into the home. It is a problem for us. It is a spike," Supt Keogh said. Father-of-two Mal Osborne, 58, died on his way to work after his vehicle collided with a stolen car allegedly driven by a 19-year-old repeat offender at Beenleigh last month. Lachlan Cain, 15, died when he was a passenger in a stolen car that crashed into a guard rail at North Lakes, north of Brisbane, last month. VICTIMS: Zara Simons and Samantha Neilsen died in a car crash ay Anstead. Picutres: Facebook And friends Samantha Neilsen, 16, and Zara Simon, 17, died at Anstead in Brisbane's southwest, in January after taking a friend's car on a high-speed joyride. Police figures show unlawful use of motor vehicle offences jumped 22.5 per cent to almost 12,000 offences last financial year. "Some of the cars that are getting stolen are quite good cars," Supt Keogh said. In earlier years the car taken was more of an older car which was easily accessible, easy to start and possessed no restriction by way of alarm. He added: "I think there is a fair bit of thrillseeking in there, a little bit of competitiveness insofar as who can obtain the better motor vehicle. And certainly with social media they tend to communicate with each other and realistically brag about their conquests. Other police separately confirmed they were coming across cases of teenagers posting pictures of themselves in stolen cars on Facebook. Detective Inspector Geoffrey Acreman said groups of teenagers were stealing up to three cars from the one home. Family members hold a photo of Mal and Linda Osborne. "Recidivist offenders are now engaging more and more people to join them as they go on their little rampages," he said. We've had some groups of up to 12 people involved in one offence; multiple stolen cars, they get around in large groups. Offenders break into homes, steal keys and cars, swap them around and sometimes burn them before stealing again, Insp Acreman said. "It was concerning to see kids as young as 10 who got involved in these crimes," he said. He also warned unlicensed and inexperienced young drivers were increasingly being involved in crashes. What is significantly concerning for us at the moment also is in the last few months there have been car crashes involving carloads of kids that have been single vehicle crashes, nothing else involved in them. They're just driving like lunatics. Supt Keogh said a recent operation in Wynnum caught 92 offenders on 132 offences of theft or unlawful use of a motor vehicle. Thomas Chamberlin, David Murray and Josh Robertson