No burglaries in four days since three accused arrested over Carnarvon crime spree in rapid police response

Police say three women were responsible for a string of crimes in Carnarvon in recent weeks, reiterating their rapid response resulted in a continued downward trend in crime rates since December.

Carnarvon police on Friday arrested three women, aged 19, 39 and 47, who were allegedly involved in a crime spree in town.

One woman was charged with three counts of aggravated home burglary, five counts of stealing, two counts of fraud and aggravated burglary. The two other women were charged with the same offences, with one less count of stealing.

Mid West-Gascoyne police Supt Steve Post said in four days from Saturday-Tuesday, since the alleged crime spree, no burglaries had been reported.

He claimed the town was still dealing with antisocial behaviour, but the recent downward crime trend was a reality and not “fudge(d) figures”.

Crime reports in the town this year began with a large New Year’s Eve brawl, followed by a video capturing a car-load of accused juveniles circling and ramming a police vehicle on January 14. It left WA Police Union acting president Paul Gale calling for greater legal protections for officers who had to apprehend offenders in these situations.

A 16-year-old boy from Karratha was charged with stealing the car and another two 16-year-old boys were charged with a string of other serious offences.

The officer-in-charge at Carnarvon, Sen. Sgt Mark Ardley, said since December, data showed a decrease in property damage of more than 20 per cent compared with the previous month, and police were “continuing to see a decline now through to January”.

“Damage offences, which was significantly down in December, have continued to decline. I think that’s largely due to significant reduction in ginging offences,” he said.

Sen. Sgt Ardley said the accused women were arrested in a timely manner after police received information in a “rapid police response”, and urged residents to report information to police on every occasion.

One resident, who did not want to be named, said he was desperate enough to contemplate vigilante action and had trouble sleeping because of the crime issues.

“We’ve had enough in this town,” he said.

Sen. Sgt Ardley said he discouraged residents from dealing with matters on their own, and any type of violence could create further problems in the community.

“That’s certainly not the type of action that we want members of the public to be taking, because obviously, if they take matters into their own hands it can have significant consequences,” he said. “Not only for themselves but also for the community, it can increase further angst between families in the community.”

The 19-year-old woman is due to face Carnarvon Magistrates Court on February 27, the 39-year-old on Monday, February 6, and the 47-year-old on Monday, January 30.