Shawn Soley was sleeping when intruders broke into his house, ransacking rooms and stealing equipment valued at more than $5000.
When the Kurunjang man awoke on Sunday, October 23, he realised things were out of place – floors were muddy, the couch pushed back and mess was strewn across the floor.
His electronics, including amplifiers, Xbox, headsets, Xbox games and laptop, were missing. And so was a kettle, electric frying pan, black tea and coffee.
“The worse part about all of this is all the essential stuff has been stolen,” Mr Soley, 30, says. “Being I’m single, I don’t go out and socialise much. I work massive hours, so I come home, play Xbox and watch a DVD – I can’t do that anymore.”
There were muddy footprints across the lounge room into his and his three-year-old son’s bedroom.
Mr Soley says he’s lucky his son had been sleeping over at his mother’s house on the night.
“When I sat down to call the police, that’s when adrenaline kicked in,” Mr Soley says. “I got a bit of a rush – someone had been in here.
“I wouldn’t say it was scary, but what if my son was here? What if he had woken up? What would they have done to him?”
Mr Soley has ramped up security, put on deadlocks and other precautions, but wants more done. He says houses should come with security doors, deadlocks and CCTV.
“If we had more police on duty around the area, it would make a significant decrease in crime,” Mr Soley says.
The Police Association last month called for 3300 extra frontline police over the next six years. The state government said it would fast track deployment of more than 400 officers, including 300 first-responders.
