Police to tackle rash of crime in industrial areas

Police are urging businesses in industrial areas around Broome to report burglaries or attempted burglaries at their businesses to help police tackle this growing issue.

Broome Police officer in charge Senior Sergeant Rob Neesham said even if nothing is stolen people should report the break-ins to police. “If police have got no information coming in we can’t do much,” he said.

“Quite often people will let them go if nothing is stolen but we want them to be actioned so we can create a crime profile to try and build a crime profile.

“At the moment we’re actively targeting those areas to minimise activity.”

Burglaries in the Archer Street area have increased in recent weeks with several businesses targeted several times in a matter of days.

Perry Paunich Maintenance Contractors was broken into twice in three days last week.

Jason Perry of PPMC said each time the workshop was targeted the police had gone out of their way to investigate.

“They took all the alcohol, a mobile, CDs and a motorbike from the shed; the police were great, they found the bike on a bush track and brought it back for me,” he said. “They fingerprinted and did all the forensic tests.”

Mr Perry said the business had since invested $10,000 in security equipment and moved valuables out of the workshop.

He said the burglaries were an ongoing problem in industrial areas and could cause problems if they continued during tourist season.

“It’s going to hurt Broome’s name, people will be turned away from Broome because of all the crime,” he said.