Coogee roller shutters and outdoor blinds

There were 22 burglaries in Coogee in 2021 and 11 in 2025, so the count halved over five years. It had been 36 back in 2017. On the 2025 figure the suburb's rate is 2.1 per 1,000 residents, roughly half the metropolitan Perth rate of 4.0.

Counts this size move about from one year to the next (20 were recorded in 2024), but the five year direction is down. For the first six months of 2026 the figure was 7.

A low rate is a good starting point rather than a reason to leave windows bare. Think of a shutter as a physical barrier on windows and doors: it makes forced entry slower and noisier, and the rest of the time it simply shades the glass.

The City of Cockburn's history describes a small cluster of houses built around the old Coogee Hotel in the late 1960s, and almost all of modern Coogee built up into suburban housing by the mid-1990s. The result is a suburb of freestanding homes: 86.1% of occupied dwellings were separate houses at the 2021 Census, and just 2.9% were semi-detached or townhouses. Home ownership was 87.2%, with 49.2% owned outright.

That makes residential roller shutters a natural starting point, fitted to bedrooms and to the big sliding doors that open onto the yard.

Outdoor living matters too. Ziptrak and Slidetrack blinds can close in a patio or alfresco, and motorised outdoor blinds can use sun and wind sensors that adjust to changing weather. In Hamilton Hill, 4.4 km away, we installed a manual Ziptrak blind with a white frame and 99% Ebony mesh.

Coogee is in the City of Cockburn. State rules let you alter a single house without development approval when the R-Codes apply, the work is deemed-to-comply and the place is not heritage protected. Being on the City's Heritage List changes that, because Cockburn's heritage design guidelines require approval for all development affecting a listed place, minor works included.

The City's local policy on incidental development does not mention shutters, blinds or awnings, and it says proposals it does not address need development approval. The state exemption for single houses sits outside that policy, so for most Coogee homes the three conditions above are the test. If in doubt, ask the City before ordering.

With 22.5% of residents aged 65 or over, the WA Seniors Card Safety and Security Rebate is worth a look: it covers security window screens or window shutters, with a maximum of $400 per household. The City of Cockburn's Seniors Security Rebate, which lists roller shutters at $350, has closed applications for 2026 to 2027.