By Peter Lynch
A ram raid attack occurred in the centre of Perth’s CBD Monday morning, as an SUV was used to smash through the front window of the G-Star Raw clothing store.
The dramatic attack was orchestrated by several thieves, who stole merchandise from the store.
People walk by the boarded up entrance to the G-Star Raw clothing store.
James Martin, a representative of WA Police, says this is nothing new.
“There have been a number of these raids in the last few months, and I’m sure this won’t be the last one. What is worrying about these crimes is how regularly they have been occurring, even with our efforts to combat them,” said Mr Martin.
“Ram raid burglary is a greater trend in Australia than other countries because of our strict gun laws. Most criminals can’t hold up a shop at gunpoint, so ram raiding is a common substitute. They will go for ATMs most often, for the money.”
Mr Martin said that until there was a reliable method of preventing ram raid attacks, they would continue to occur regularly.
Following a spate of ATM ram raids in Queensland in 2005 a special taskforce was created to deal with the attacks, and was successful in reducing the ram raid ATM attacks.
Despite a similar taskforce being organised by WA Police, numbers of ATM ram raid attacks have remained relatively constant.
The majority of ram raids are performed for the purposes of theft.
However some people such as Mary Brooks, a member of Gosnells Archers club which was set alight following an early morning ram raid arson attack on the 30th of September, know that ram raids can also be simple acts of destruction and arson.
“I couldn’t believe it when I heard what had happened. It was just cruel-hearted to do what they did to our club,” said Mrs Brooks.
“It all went. Bows, trophies, memorabilia, all gone.”
Ram raiding remains the most common method of attempting to steal from ATMs globally.
To avoid being identified, vehicles are often stolen for the purpose of ram raids.
See below for a map of some of Perth’s most notable ram raids in 2016.
[googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=16IIazgPZxde-TaRrokl2Pw6YvTQ&w=640&h=480]