Tourist couple tell of holiday nightmare after their 4WD was stolen and used to ram police cars in Broome

A tourist couple have come forward and told of their holiday nightmare in Broome, which ended with their car being used as a weapon to ram police cars. After reading the feature by James Salmon published in the Broome Advertiser and the West Australian last week, Peter Green and Di Swansson came forward with their tale of a holiday gone wrong in the sunny tourist town of Broome. Mr Green who has been travelling to and from Broome for decades said the crime in Broome was the worst he had ever seen it. “I used to work in the Kimberley region and also the Pilbara,” he said. “It’s just been going downhill for years. It’s totally out of control and unless something is done, nothing’s going to change. “It certainly leaves a bad taste in your mouth.” Mr Green and Ms Swansson said they had gone out for the night on Sunday June 12, leaving Peter’s brand new Chevrolet Silverado 4WD parked at their accommodation at Cocos Beach Bungalows. “My son and his fiancee were joining us from Dubai and we’d decided to go out for the evening and Peter didn’t want to drive because he wanted to have a drink so we left the car behind,” Ms Swansson said. But while out enjoying their evening, the couple received a call from the Police saying their bungalow had been broken into and Mr Green’s car had been stolen and wrecked. “The car was worth near $140,000,” he said. “It was only 12 weeks old and has only done 11,000 km so it’s bloody new car.” According to Ms Swansson and Mr Green the car was stolen by several young teenage girls who then used the 4WD to ram police vehicles. “The police told us they had rammed two police cars with it,” Mr Green said. “They totally sheared off the back right hand wheel.” Ms Swansson said she was devastated after the burglary and theft of Mr Green’s vehicle. “It put our holiday to a stop,” she said. “We came up (to Broome) for 16 days and then we were moving on up to Darwin and then heading over to the east and doing a whole trip.” The youth crime wave in the Kimberley has been in the cross-hairs of local and WA officials alike over the past year with a report from the WA Police Union in March showing the severity of crime in the Kimberley had risen by 96 per cent over the past decade. The State Government implemented operation regional shield at the start of the year in an effort to tackle the youth crime wave but even after tens of arrests and over 100 charges laid, youths in the Kimberley continue to participate in criminal behaviour.