Armed criminals are breaking into Northern Beaches homes, targeting families with luxury or high-performance vehicles parked in their driveways. Police Strike Force Sweetenham is investigating the recent incidents, with thieves often carrying knives and entering homes while residents sleep.
Emily and Chris were the victims of an aggravated break and enter in their North Balgowlah home last Tuesday, 14 October. The family with two young kids were asleep before being woken up to noises at around 1.30 am.
“I heard like a jingle of keys, and that’s when I woke Chris up and said, someone’s in the house,” Emily told Manly Observer at her Balgowlah home, days after the break-in.
“And then Chris heard something, and he went down. And then I stayed up there until I heard an almighty roar of him screaming at them. And then I ran downstairs because it sounded like he was in pain. And then I saw that that back door was open, and then I ran out and noticed that Chris was injured because he got thrown from the car.”
Home-camera footage shows three men with hats, hoods and balaclavas canvasing the premises to find a way in. One was armed with a knife, while another attempted to steal the occupants ten-year-old daughter’s crocs.
Neither the camera or the sensor lights seemed to deter the criminals as they entered in through the back of the house in search for car keys. Fortunately, Chris chased off the invaders before they could complete the job – but it didn’t leave him unscathed.
“After I chased him to the car… I grabbed a hold of him through the window as they’ve kind of jumped in and shut the door and and then taken off and I’ve hit the hit the deck. I got a bit cut up, I have a swollen knee now, it’s quite bad, and I had to get an X-ray on my foot. So I came back in, went straight upstairs to check the kids,” Chris shared.
The couple asks anyone who knows the family not to inform their children of the story, as the kids are not aware of the incident.
The break-in crew escaped in a Mini Cooper, coincidentally, the same model car they were attempting to steal. The couple said they were impressed with the police response who showed up within minutes of the call and assisted them in searching the rest of the house.
Unfortunately, this isn’t an isolated case. Police have created Strikeforce Sweetenham to specifically crack down on aggravated break/enters targeting houses with high performance or luxury vehicles. The crimes often involve opportunistic younger men or even teens looking for an easy score. Other cases have been linked to organised crime where the cars are sold to gangs for cheap.
Police have told affected residents the criminals are often not deterred by motion lights or cameras and will enter homes with people inside – multiple storey houses are also targeted as it is more likely people are sleeping upstairs away from their keys. However, they will often leave the house alone if they cannot find an unlocked access point.
More footage on a different home security camera shows four men, one armed with a large knife, attempting to break into a Collaroy home last month. The house had a BMW parked in the driveway with the crooks leaving shortly after upon discovering no way into the premises. Several others have been reported to police and, anecdotally, to Manly Observer, in recent weeks.
Local locksmith Blake Cole from Mobilisation Locksmiths says since last school holidays he’s completed about eight car lock replacement jobs in relation to these types of crimes on the Northern Beaches, two being in the last few weeks in Balgowlah.
“It’s, like an epidemic,” he said.
“I’ve got a BMW from around the corner from Emily’s, just over at Ernest Street, to make new keys for it because they’ve had theirs taken. They [robbers] got in through, I think it was an open window or something like that, and snuck into the house while everyone was home. The Audi got taken, and then the BMW got left because someone woke up and yelled out.
His advice to residents is to lock all your doors and windows, pointing out dog doors can be a weak security point. He also warns to no longer “leave your keys in the fruit bowl” and instead a secure area. Some criminals have utilised a device that can be bought online which extends the range of an electronic key giving them the ability to unlock a car without the physical key. This is can be avoided by placing keys into something with a metal lining like a tin can.
For Emily and Chris, the whole experience has left them feeling violated. Fortunately, their kids slept through the whole incident and they have chosen to not inform them to spare the anxious feelings they now possess.
They chose to share their story with us in hopes it prevents others from experiencing a break-in like theirs.
“I felt extremely dirty and violated, I think it’s that whole thing if you just lock your doors and hug your kids, because you don’t think it’s gonna happen, but it does, and it really shook a lot of people in this street,” Emily said.
“Just lock your doors and hug your kids, because you don’t think it’s gonna happen, but it does.”
“My thing, make sure your doors are locked. Make sure you do a check before you go to bed. Get sensor lights, even though ours went off at the front, but I would definitely put them in the back. And I think it’s definitely worth having cameras, because I think it tells us pieces of the puzzle for a bigger story that’s happening around the area,” Emily advised.
If you have information on these crimes or need to report an incident of your own contact Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000.
