Uniting Church Op Shop committee member Judith Ffoulkes with secretary Maureen Skeet.
Camera IconUniting Church Op Shop committee member Judith Ffoulkes with secretary Maureen Skeet. Credit: Supplied/Elle Borgward

Double blow for op shop

Laura Tomlinson, Weekend CourierWeekend Kwinana Courier

The Uniting Church Op Shop on Kent Street was hit by thieves around 1am on August 3. The crooks smashed through the front door, destroyed the store’s CCTV system and stole jewellery and women’s shoes.

The store was targeted again on August 5, with criminals bashing in a side door.

Several other businesses in the area were also broken into on the same evening.

PerthNow Digital Edition.
Your local paper, whenever you want it.

Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE

Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.

READ NOW

Op shop staff also discovered the Cruising Yacht Club’s empty till dumped in their bin.

Op shop secretary Maureen Skeet said the break-ins were ‘devastating’.

‘I mean, we’re a charity shop,’ she said.

‘It’s cruel because the people we help with the money we raise ” they are people who need emergency relief, victims of bushfires and famines.

‘We do all of that so that people who donate to our shop know the funds are going back into the community.’

Thousands of dollars in insurance excesses are expected to come out of the shop’s kitty, a large blow that will come from a fund that provides $5000 in emergency food relief every quarter.

Mrs Skeet had a strong message for the criminals, stressing that their service was designed to help people who were truly desperate.

‘Seek assistance for the problem that causes your criminal activity, and turn your life around while you can,’ she said.

The Op Shop at 169 Parkin Street (opposite the Rockingham Beach IGA) is open from 10am to 3.30pm Monday to Friday and 9am to noon on Saturdays.

Anyone with information about the burglaries is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.