Roller shutters in Beechboro

The long view comes first in Beechboro. WA Police counted 162 burglaries in the suburb in 2017. By 2021 the figure was down to 80, and in 2025 it was 47, which is 71.0% below 2017 and 41.2% below 2021. The last two years have been close to level, with 45 in 2024.

The 2025 rate works out at 5.2 per 1,000 residents, against 4.0 across metropolitan Perth. That rate is calculated on the 9,112 people counted at the 2021 Census, and Beechboro's population is estimated to have grown by 21.2% between 2021 and 2025, so the published rate overstates things somewhat. Police report burglary as one figure for each suburb, covering homes and businesses together.

What a roller shutter adds is simple. Lowered over a window or sliding door, its aluminium slats run in side guides and form a physical barrier on windows and doors, which makes forced entry slower and noisier. It works best next to good locks and lighting, not in place of them.

Beechboro is overwhelmingly a suburb of separate houses: 90.3% of occupied dwellings at the 2021 Census, with 8.4% semi-detached, terrace or townhouses and 1.0% flats. Home ownership sits at 72.3%. The City of Swan's history counts Beechboro among the suburbs where subdivision spread out from the edge of the built-up area into the western part of the Shire.

For a house, residential roller shutters on the bedroom windows and the main sliding door are the usual first step, with living areas after that. If you own a townhouse in a strata scheme, get the strata company's written consent first, because the default by-laws cover anything visible from outside the lot that is not in keeping with the rest of the building.

For the patio or alfresco, our outdoor blinds range covers Ziptrak, Slidetrack, cafe and motorised blinds, each made to the opening in Wangara.

Beechboro sits wholly within the City of Swan. State planning rules let a single house go ahead with works like shutters without development approval, but only when three things line up: the R-Codes apply, the work meets their deemed-to-comply provisions, and the place is not heritage protected.

The heritage condition is the one to check. For a place on the City's Heritage List, the City says development approval is required for demolition, alterations or other development, so it can assess the effect on the heritage value of the place. If your home is listed, ask the City before you order.

Townhouse owners have a second step, the strata company's consent, which Landgate notes is in addition to any development and building approvals. And if someone in the household holds a WA Seniors Card, the Safety and Security Rebate lists security window screens or window shutters as eligible items, up to $400 per household.