Experts have warned of the long-term psychological effects on the children of fugitive Tom Phillips, who police say has involved at least one of them in recent criminal activity — including a burglary earlier this week.
Police released CCTV footage yesterday of two masked individuals, who police believed to be Marokopa father Tom Phillips and one of his children, robbing a store in Piopio on Wednesday.
The pair, who travelled in and out on a quad bike, were in the area for 13 minutes.
Phillips has been on the run for more than three-and-a-half years and there is a warrant for his arrest related to aggravated robbery, aggravated wounding and unlawful possession of a firearm.
Some experts worry about how the children would be impacted in the long term after they are found. (Source: 1News)
Detective Senior Sergeant Andrew Saunders said in a media conference yesterday that Phillips appeared “very comfortable” in committing the robbery in Piopio.
“We’ve always considered that Tom is committing offences to help support his lifestyle.”
Asked whether he posed a risk to his children, Saunders said it was risk police were considering.
“We do have concerns around the risk Tom poses, so we’re very careful.”
Psychologists say those risks may not only be physical, but psychological.
Clinical psychologist Dougal Sutherland said the children may have a distorted moral framework.
“They would have had this worldview where it makes it okay for them to occasionally break into a shop,” he said.
“It’s just that his view differs a lot from the court’s view and mainstream society’s view about what is good for the kids, so there’s a real clash of ideologies there.”
Psychologist Sarah Watson adds that the children’s understanding of law and order could be shaped entirely by their father.
“If they’ve only got one person influencing their worldview, then it is influenced by only that one person,” she said.
“They are learning life skills and he clearly loves them, or else wouldn’t be protecting them. But the question is — why to this level of extremity? Are those life skills trumping the skills needed to live in society?”
Phillips and his children have been missing since December 2021.
Some locals told 1News that Phillips was a devoted father and disputed police allegations, claiming he did not rob the bank or steal from the superette.