A SPREE of vandalism and potentially fatal actions in Bridgetown over the weekend have angered residents and police.
Car lights were smashed in one area, rocks thrown onto roofs, a rubbish bin was thrown into a front garden, a seat was taken from the Memorial Park and put on the roadway and a rope stretched across the South Western Highway which could have caused a fatal accident.
The Bridgetown Theatre was targeted, with the new illuminated signs destroyed and sewage connections to the theatre smashed as well as chairs from the outdoor area thrown on the roof. The damage cost to the theatre alone is estimated at up to $4,000.
Officer in Charge of Bridgetown Police Station Sgt Daniel Fenton said it seemed that in some circumstances matters were not being reported to local police.
“It is important we are made aware of their occurrence in a timely manner,” he said.
“Bridgetown Police have been made aware of a number of incidents of vandalism over the weekend, particularly on Saturday night and Sunday morning.
"The damage recorded is senseless and unnecessary, and other acts involving interference to traffic have the potential to be very dangerous.
"Behaviour like this is not acceptable to the community of Bridgetown, and will not be tolerated by local police, who will do everything within their power to identify and charge the offenders responsible.
“Further information has begun to filter in which is assisting us to investigate the matters, however should anyone have information that is relevant, we are keen to hear from them,” Sgt Fenton said.
“And while I acknowledge that we may not always be able to attend there and then, the community need to understand that we are not a 24/7 police station. We cover a large area, and are sometimes involved with persons in custody or higher priority tasks that prevent us from attending.
“As such we cannot deal with every situation when it occurs. That said, we still urge the community to bring these incidents to our attention, so that we can investigate where possible, analyse the data, and adjust our focus in attempt to address the issues.
“Local police are only able to act on bona fide information, and rely on the community to make us aware of what is going on about town.”
Sgt Fenton said that while Facebook was a useful forum for communication, it could not be verified or relied upon, and local police could not respond to or investigate from it.
“Community safety is everyone’s responsibility; to monitor, report and participate in due process. While anonymous information can be useful, there is little chance of conviction, and as such we need people to be willing to put pen to paper.
"While I apologise that we cannot always take calls, we urge people reporting to stay on the line, follow the prompts, and speak to an operator. If the situation warrants it, local police will be notified and attend as soon as possible,” he said.
Over the weekend, police were advised of five tasks requiring attention, and were able to deal with all five.
Significantly, following damage at the Freemasons Hotel, a drunk patron was issued a move on notice, and inquiries into the damage, including review of CCTV are continuing.
A noisy party on Gifford Street was also closed down without incident.
In addition, two drivers were detected and charged on Friday night for driving with an blood alcohol content over the legal limit, bringing the total number of alcohol related driving charges in Bridgetown to five for the month of July.
