Fyshwick business Ion DNA has been targeted by burglars three times in 12 days as a “crime wave” hits shopfronts throughout Canberra.

Since opening their electric vehicle showroom in 2018, Ion DNA owner and director, Rob Ogilvie, said they’d only had one prior break-in attempt.

According to Mr Ogilvie, he is one of a handful of Fyshwick businesses that has been targeted of late, with e-bikes and e-scooters in particular a hot commodity.

“There’s been a series of these happening,” he said, “different stores have come in and told us what they had taken.

“Everywhere I turned, everyone I spoke to, their place had been burgled. It was just horrendous.”

Mr Ogilvie estimated the recent burglaries would cost him $10,000-$15,000, with insurance to partially cover expenses.

As a result, Ion DNA’s showroom security is being bolstered in a few ways; upgrades to their locks and glass will work in tandem with a new high-tech remote monitoring system.

“If it takes us 15-20 minutes to get here, they’re gone, and we want someone here in five,” he said. “We want someone here before they get in.

“If it’s too hard here they’ll go somewhere else, which is what I want.

“All the bike stores, we’re all upgrading, or already upgraded, and it’s expected they’ll have to find a new product.”

‘Police aren’t personal security providers’

Owner of Canberra security business, Leader Security, Troy Cassell, told Canberra Daily the crime wave is due to police lacking the resources to attend and follow up on break-ins, and many local businesses not having adequate security measures in place to begin with.

“Police aren’t their personal security providers, and they would get so many calls from people who have done nothing to protect themselves in the first place,” Mr Cassell said.

“I suppose it’s like everything, they’ve got limited resources and can’t be everywhere at once, and I think the problems are only going to get worse.

“I can understand it, because so many people have this lax attitude with their business and personal security.”

Mr Cassell said the trend of late has seen burglars targeting stores across Canberra that specialise in bikes, e-bikes, e-scooters, and anything “that can be sold at the pub”.

He said one popular bike shop in Phillip has been targeted four times in the past two months, with neighbouring bike stores in the precinct also getting hit.

Previously Mr Cassell’s business specialised in providing security solutions for construction sites that would be targeted for tools and resources: “now every business is high risk”.

“It’s so easy to get into a building at the moment,” he said. “If you watch the videos, they take out an angle grinder and they’re inside within a minute.

“They’re so brazen nowadays.”

According to Mr Cassell, businesses can maximise their security by making it as difficult as possible to enter the store and installing a remotely monitored security system.

“If we’re able to engage police and say we can see three people in hoodies outside a bike shop in Phillip at three in the morning and we’ve dispatched our cars, we can get a police dispatch as well.

“If it’s a visually verified event and crime in progress, (police) will respond,” he said. “If it’s worth investigating, they’ll come out straight away.”

Meanwhile, ACT Policing yesterday issued a warning to potential buyers of e-bikes and e-scooters from online marketplaces to be aware the items on offer could be those stolen from local businesses in the recent spate of burglaries.

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