Thirty holiday burglaries reported over 10 days

Karratha was hard-hit by burglaries over the holiday period with double the usual number of incidents reported to police.

Karratha police acting officer-in-charge Senior Sergeant Paul Brown said about 30 burglary offences had been reported in town over a 10-day period from Christmas into the early new year, a statistic that was “well above our norm”.

Police last week charged four juveniles over three break-ins and robberies of Karratha homes and businesses between December 30 and January 3.

The allegedly stolen items recovered included television sets, laptops, bikes, machetes and sets of bows and arrows.

The boys, aged 12-15 years, have been charged with offences including aggravated burglary, stealing and receiving stolen property.

Sen. Sgt Brown said police believe the suspects had targeted certain addresses and tested if their occupants were away over the break by throwing stones on roofs or kicking a ball into backyards.

The investigation is ongoing.

Pilbara District Police Inspector Louise Ball said residents could reduce their chances of becoming victims of burglary or robbery by using stronger crime prevention practices including locking doors and vehicles, securing valuables out of sight, asking neighbours to watch their property and considering installing security lighting, alarms or CCTV.

“Members of the community, they work hard for the valuables that they’ve got, so don’t make it easy for people to take them from you,” she said.

Local police stations reported otherwise generally good behaviour from residents over the Christmas and new year period and recorded low numbers of assaults and traffic offences.

Of 3180 random breath tests conducted by Pilbara traffic police, they detected a very low proportion of drink-drivers.