Roller shutters and blinds in Coolbellup

Coolbellup's burglary numbers have held fairly steady over five years. WA Police recorded 60 burglaries in 2021 and 64 in 2025, with 59 in 2024. The longer run is down: there were 128 in 2017, so the 2025 count is half that.

The 2025 rate is 11.2 per 1,000 residents, nearly three times the metropolitan rate of 4.0. That figure includes burglaries at businesses as well as homes, though only 1.7% of Coolbellup's land is commercial or industrial. Motor vehicle thefts were lower in 2025 than in 2021, at 18 against 25.

No product changes a suburb's figures. What a roller shutter does for one house is put a physical barrier over its windows and glass doors, so forcing a way in takes longer and makes more noise. It is one layer, alongside deadlocks, window locks and sensor lights.

Coolbellup has a broader housing mix than Greater Perth as a whole. The 2021 Census recorded 73.3% of occupied dwellings as separate houses, 12.7% as semi-detached or townhouses and 14.0% as flats. Home ownership was 60.1%, below the Greater Perth figure of 70.4%, and 20.5% of homes were owned outright.

With flats and attached homes together making up about a quarter of the stock, strata may be the first step. WA's default by-laws require the strata company's written consent for anything visible from outside a lot that is not in keeping with the rest of the building, and that consent is separate from any council approval.

Landgate's suburb history notes that in 1954 most of the land west of the lake was resumed by the State Housing Commission, with an intensive housing scheme planned. For separate houses, residential roller shutters suit bedrooms and back sliding doors.

For outdoor areas we make Ziptrak, Slidetrack and cafe blinds. The closest finished example is a manual Ziptrak blind with a white frame and 99% Ebony mesh in Hamilton Hill, 2.5 km away.

Coolbellup is in the City of Cockburn. The state exemption from development approval applies to work on a single house where the R-Codes apply, the work is deemed-to-comply and the place is not heritage protected.

Cockburn's heritage design guidelines, LPP 4.4, say all development affecting a place on the City's Heritage List needs development approval, minor works included. The City's incidental development policy, LPP 1.8, does not cover heritage-protected places, and says a proposal it does not address needs development approval; it does not mention shutters, blinds or awnings, and the state exemptions still apply.

On rebates, the City of Cockburn's Seniors Security Rebate lists roller shutters at $350, but applications are closed for the 2026 to 2027 financial year. The state's WA Seniors Card Safety and Security Rebate is a separate scheme, covering security window screens or window shutters up to $400 per household.