Called in by Scarborough police after an increase in daylight burglaries, police horses Rocky and Blaze, along with Sergeant Vicki Bordin and Constable Kelly Player, patrolled the laneways and back alleys of Scarborough from 10am to 4pm, while colleagues patrolled in Karrinyup and Greenwood.
Sgt Bordin said the mounted police had a proven history of preventing burglaries.
‘Historically what happens is that when we’re in an area that has had a spike, numbers go down just because we’re a high visibility deterrent,’ she said.
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READ NOW‘As soon as an area is getting hit, they’ll ask for the horses and depending on the areas that have been hit, that’s where we’ll go.’
She said most residents they encountered were more than happy to see the horses, which gave height and sound advantages to police.
‘We stopped anyone that we saw walking around and had a chat and there was only one person that didn’t like |us doing that,’ Sgt Bordin said.
‘Laneways are excellent for us because the height of the horses allows us to see into back yards if there is anything suspicious going on.
‘One other advantage is that we can hear what’s going on. If you’re in a car and someone is breaking in you won’t necessarily hear that, but if you’re on a horse in the laneway and it’s quiet, you can hear everything… even if there are dogs barking we can go see what’s happening.
‘Horses are also a high-visibility deterrent for a lot of criminal activity.
‘Everyone notices a horse.
‘Most residents are quite keen to have a chat’