Como roller shutters, made in Wangara

Como's 2025 burglary rate was 5.3 per 1,000 residents. That is higher than the metropolitan rate of 4.0, although the count behind it has fallen a long way.

WA Police recorded 79 burglaries in Como in 2025, against 164 in 2021 and 221 in 2017. The five year fall is 51.8%, so the count has more than halved. Most of the drop came before 2024; the last two years were close together, at 83 and then 79.

As in every suburb, the figure combines homes and businesses. A roller shutter puts a physical barrier on windows and doors and makes forced entry slower and noisier. On a townhouse with a glass slider onto a courtyard, that one opening is often the sensible place to start.

Only 32.8% of Como's occupied dwellings were separate houses at the 2021 Census, less than half the Greater Perth figure of 77.8%. Semi-detached, terrace and townhouse dwellings made up 52.5%, and flats 14.5%. Landgate traces the suburb to the Como Estate, where extensive subdivision of the land commenced in 1905.

So strata comes first for many owners. Under the default conduct by-law you need the strata company's written consent before keeping anything visible from outside your lot that is not in keeping with the rest of the building, and another by-law asks for 14 days written notice before you alter the structure of a lot. Bring your scheme's by-laws or any past approvals to the measure.

For houses, and for townhouses once consent is in hand, residential roller shutters go on bedrooms and living area glass. Courtyards can be closed in with motorised outdoor blinds or with Ziptrak and Slidetrack systems.

With a fifth of residents aged 65 and over, the WA Seniors Card Safety and Security Rebate is worth checking first. It lists security window screens or window shutters as an eligible item, with a minimum purchase and installation value of $100, and pays up to $400 per household. It can be claimed once over the life of the scheme.

A single house needs no development approval for shutters where the R-Codes apply, the work meets the deemed-to-comply provisions, and the place is not heritage protected.

That last condition matters here. Places in Como are on the City of South Perth Heritage List adopted on 28 October 2025, and the City's Local Planning Policy 8.1 governs works affecting listed places where a development application is required. If your home is listed, approval comes before installation. Ground floor shopfronts in the Local Centre, Neighbourhood Centre and Mixed Use zones are also covered by the City's Local Planning Policy 2.2, which does not allow them to be screened off with shutters or roller doors.