A staggering 36 per cent spike in Wyndham home invasions has given rise to calls for more focus on programs that engage young people.
New crime data reveals 147 aggravated burglaries were reported in 2016, 41 more than the previous year. Wyndham police inspector Martin Allison said the perpetrators were, typically, young men.
“Aggravated burglaries are a concern, but they always have been,” he said.
“There was a significant increase in youths breaking into houses, stealing sets of car keys, mobile phones and wallets last year … there was a very successful operation [Operation Cosmas resulted in 460 arrests statewide] where we shifted all our resources in response to that.”
Inspector Allison said while apprehending perpetrators was important, prevention was the key.
“Wyndham’s only just going to keep growing. Unless we address this issue now by looking at the root causes, things are not going to get any better,” he said.
“If we have proper programs in place, we can save more young people than we lose.”
The data also revealed a 28 per cent spike in sexual offences, but Inspector Allison thinks there are a lot more going unreported.
There were 256 reports of sexual offences in Wyndham in 2016, up 57 on the previous year.
“The numbers are definitely alarming, but I do believe the number of cases is a lot higher and victims aren’t reporting,” Inspector Allison said.
He said while reporting crimes is on the rise, he believes more needs to be done.
“It’s about trust,” he said.
“Many victims are from migrant backgrounds that perhaps traditionally don’t trust the police … we need to work towards building that trust.”
Crime, overall, in Wyndham increased by 7.4 per cent, compared with a statewide jump of 10.2 per cent.
Assessing crime as a proportion of population, though, revealed that Wyndham recorded a much smaller rise overall compared to other municipalities in the west.
