Crime Spree

Nothing more than a cursory glance around the Woolgoolga and the Northern Beaches areas would be necessary to understand the central role that biking and skating plays in the lives of our children and teens. Accordingly Woodsey’s Wheels has been a vital and vitalising part of our community for the last 13 years, which makes it all the more saddening when we hear that it has been the target of a malicious campaign of vandalism and theft over the last three weeks.
The business has been hit three times in as many weeks with the latest incident, last Thursday night, involving the theft of several boxes of shoes (many of them containing only one shoe), skate decks, other assorted items, as well as damage to the store front when the unknown persons forced entry and vandalised the recently applied mural that cost the business thousands of dollars.

“It’s hard to tell what they took exactly. Unless they made a mess we really have no way of knowing exactly what items they took,” Lesley, owner of Woodsey’s Wheels said.
The onslaught of vandalism, damage and theft has left Lesley feeling demoralised. While each of the three break-ins has cost the business approximately $2000 a pop in stock and damages, it is the deeper effects on the businesses viability that has Lesley worried.

“It costs more in insurance each time you claim but there can also come a time when you can’t get insured at all. Because of our stock and its value, we can’t operate uninsured.”

Sure that the break-ins have been committed by youths, Lesley said that if she could speak directly to those responsible she would question their judgement.

“I would ask them about their future, where they think they’ll end up. Do they really want to go to jail? Sooner or later they are bound to get caught…they always get caught.”

Community support has already been flooding into the well-known business with many people keeping an eye out and an ear open for those responsible, operating under the often correct assumption that we live in a small and tight knit community and that sooner or later word does get around.

“We’ve been operating here for the last 13-years and the people have been very good to us. The local kids are very protective of this store, without it they would loose .”

Also hit last week was Working PC with $2,500 worth of mobile phones and GPS equipment stolen from the premises on a Sunday night. Owner, Lee Varney, had the same problem as Woodsey’s Wheels: not realising the real extent of his losses until some time after.

“You would go to get something for a customer or have a look for an item and realise it wasn’t there.”

Just like other businesses, Lee’s major concern is the effect that break-ins and vandalism have on business stability and viability.

“It’s frustrating. The last time I was hit I almost went broke, I was lucky this time.”

What needs to be made absolutely clear is that these crimes are not only an attack on the businesses involved but also on the community as a whole. It is businesses like Lee’s and Lesley’s that make Woolgoolga such a convenient place to live. To loose these businesses would not only be a blow to the livelihood of the owners but a blow to the wellbeing of the entire community.