BURGLARIES —
BAYULU
1136. Hon ROBIN SCOTT to the minister representing the
Minister for Aboriginal Affairs:
I refer to the remote Aboriginal
community of Bayulu in the Fitzroy Valley. Its general store has been broken
into between 30 and 40 times in the last three years, most recently on both
Friday last week and yesterday morning. Police
are questioning a group of kids, the youngest believed to be eight years old.
The group is alleged to have stolen a car and rammed the back door of
the store to get in, causing $20 000 damage and stealing one tub of ice cream.
This same group of alleged offenders are known to police and are known among
many in the community as kids from the same family who offend time and again.
What is the government going to do about it?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of this question. The following answer has been provided to me by
the Minister for Police.
The Western Australia Police Force
advises that the Bayulu store was subject to a burglary involving a stolen
vehicle in the early hours of yesterday morning, 19 October 2020; however, the
identity of the offenders for this has not been established. The stolen vehicle
has been recovered in Fitzroy Crossing and police are conducting inquiries into
this matter. A second vehicle was stolen this morning in Fitzroy Crossing. This
vehicle was used to transport offenders to
Bayulu community, where they have utilised the same entry point to commit
another burglary on the store. Fitzroy Crossing police are working with
shop staff and collecting all available evidence—CCTV—to
establish the identity of the offenders. The two recent burglaries are believed
to be connected. Fitzroy Crossing police have recently charged one adult and a group
of juveniles with steal motor vehicle offences. Many of these people reside in
Bayulu, with the population being approximately 300. Police have been
proactively engaging with the Bayulu community, as have other stakeholders, to
deter young people and others them from engaging in criminal behaviour.