Constable Jay Langlois and Senior Constable Andrew Slee from Murdoch LPT3 in action.
Camera IconConstable Jay Langlois and Senior Constable Andrew Slee from Murdoch LPT3 in action. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Putting heat on thieves

Staff ReporterMelville Gazette

Sergeant Bruce McDonald, who heads up the Local Policing Team (LPT) that looks after Kardinya, Coolbellup and North Lake, said in the past month there had been a significant increase in stealing from cars and handbags around local shopping centres.

Worst hit suburbs were Kardinya, North Lake and Cockburn Central.

Police will target these areas with dedicated patrols as part of Operation Broadford.

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‘There will be covert and overt patrols throughout crime hotspots and we will be building up intelligence and targeting offenders in the area,’ Sgt McDonald said.

He said cars in shopping centre car parks and attractions such as Adventure World were being targeted, as were people’s handbags, purses and phones while shopping.

The elderly were at particular risk, with some offenders even stalking them up and down aisles, and Sgt McDonald asked that people keep their bags and valuables on their body, not in a trolley, while shopping.

Operation Broadford will continue through March and police have already seen a slight decrease in thefts since it began last week.

Two arrests were made over the weekend after burglaries in Bibra Lake and Cockburn Central.