Collie Police Senior Sergeant Heath Soutar is urging parents to be more vigilant of where their children are at night after local businesses were hit by a spate of damage offences last week.
Police received reports that Collie Shoeland, Eden Nails, the new vet centre and Elders all had windows smashed overnight on January 8.
Senior Sergeant Soutar said police had apprehended a number of juveniles believed to have committed the incidents, who were now going through judicial processes.
However he said he was shocked to see children as young as 12 involved in the incidents, which occurred in middle of the night.
“It’s totally ridiculous,” he said.
“There was a 12-year-old girl walking around at one o’clock in the morning involved in these incidents. That’s a parenting issue.
“Parents should know where their kids are during the night and children should not be walking around the streets in the middle of the night.”
He also said parents needed to communicate with each other when their children were spending the night at a friend’s house, to make sure they were safe and not causing trouble on the streets.
Senior Sergeant Soutar estimated the damage caused to the four businesses that night would total to over $10,000.
“It’s just mindless damage for no reason and it shouldn’t be happening,” he said.
Collie Chamber of Commerce and Industry executive officer Bec Woods said these type of incidents were especially damaging to small businesses.
“Vandalism to a small business can mean the difference between making it and breaking it, especially in a small town,” she said.
“If a business is being targeted repeatedly, their insurance goes up and they occur unexpected expenses that aren’t budgeted for.”
She said vandalism incidents often also left business owners feeling vulnerable in their own community.
Ms Woods said businesses were welcome to talk to the chamber about their challenges and recommended also contacting the shire and police to work towards a collaborative response to the issue.
