By Afraa Kori
Last week’s burglary at the Berwick Inn has raised fears that crime is becoming a norm for businesses in High Street.
Police are continuing their investigation into the burglary on 9 April, where offender/s have smashed the front of the building, possibly with a vehicle, and stole an ATM around 4:30 am.
All offenders were gone when police arrived at the scene and no one was injured during the incident. A picture circulating on Casey Crime Page on Facebook, shows a smashed entrance of the building, as well as a yellow stopping bollard that had been uprooted.
The public has expressed anger over the incident, highlighting frustration with the police, courts, and election discussions on ‘tough-on-crime’ policies.
Finding out that Berwick Inn Hotel had been targeted hit Harry’s Clothing hard—especially since it’s only 400 metres away.
Business owner Harry Hutchinson recently relocated to High Street after falling victim to nine separate break-ins in Blackburne Square.
Although he’s confident he made the right move and hasn’t experienced any break-ins since, he still knows he’s not completely safe.
“We’ve tightened up our security here—we’ve got bulletproof glass and a security door. This came at a heavy cost, which I covered myself and hopefully, it means they won’t be able to get in at all,” Harry said.
“It’s hard to stop the break-ins because those doing it don’t care if they’re caught on CCTV or the alarms going off.
“Crime is out of control and there’s not enough police resources to get out and investigate all the minor break-ins that are occurring.
“Everyone’s screaming for crime prevention but where do you start when there’s so much of it? You can’t tell everyone they’ve got to stay indoors, they can’t be out after midnight, things like that. Small business areas and shopping centres get rammed, even homes. I don’t know of any other way you could prevent crime.”
A gift shop manager has worked in High Street for three years and has been robbed twice, leaving her feeling uneasy and on edge.
A restaurant worker is concerned about the safety of staff and customers, especially with crimes also occurring in broad daylight.
“Recently there was a big one right in front of us. I think one guy was on fentanyl and the police came,” he said.
“There’s more crime than what I expected from Berwick. It’s pretty sad to see because a lot of these businesses are not company oriented, it’s family oriented. Lucky that no one has been hurt so far.”
Anyone who witnessed the incident, has CCTV, dashcam footage or information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
