No time for crime

Boutique Travel Cafe was the most recent victim after a man broke into the business last Tuesday using a paver he lifted from the footpath.

Shops in The Vale Village Centre have been a regular target for thieves since the small commercial complex opened.

The pharmacy has been broken into three times, the hairdresser twice and the Chinese restaurant and the cafe have each been broken into once.

The owner of the Tip Top Variety Store in Aveley, Sushma Patel, said she believed instances of people stealing and damaging her store were getting worse.

‘We have posters up to name and shame them,’ she said.

‘It gets worse day by day ” people just don’t care anymore whether they break or steal things.

‘A lot of shops are being broken into too ” if security was to increase in the area, that would be great.’

Meanwhile, the shops at the corner of Henley Brook Drive and Gnangara Road have had issues of their own with frequent break-in attempts.

Thirsty Camel manager Dean Arthurell said the area was often a target due to its relative isolation.

‘Everyone has had break-ins apart from about two of the stores,’ he said.

‘We have an attempted break-in every second or third month.’

Other storeowners in the area say they hope the new 24-hour petrol station opening in August will make the area more visible and protected from thieves.

Ellenbrook police Senior Sergeant John Waghorn said break-ins were not at epidemic levels and the issue was not isolated to just Ellenbrook and Aveley.

‘When you look at a district like Ellenbrook where burglaries are around 400 per year, it does not indicate there is a huge problem in the area,’ he said.

Sen Sgt Waghorn said there were bigger problems with break-ins around the Midland area.

‘The amount of burglaries per 1000 people has actually fallen over the past two years,’ he said.