A desperate mum who was in her Rivett home during one of several burglaries at the residence is calling on the public's help to catch the culprits.
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Maria Brady was devastated that more than $5,000 of valuables were stolen from the house over three break-ins in roughly two years. On one occasion she heard a splash in her 11-year-old son's bedroom and discovered a thief had fallen off the window sill into a fish tank before fleeing.
The single mother's two sons had not stayed in the house since the latest burglary last Monday out of fears for their safety.
"I am desperate. I need this living hell to stop," she said.
"I need to know if anyone out there knows who's doing this, if anyone heard anything that can help track them down."
The thieves allegedly stole her older son's wallet with $450 in cash he'd saved up, a laptop with photos of her sick mother that she hadn't backed up, an iPod, DVD Player, a bike and speakers. None of the loss was covered by insurance.
Ms Brady said he bedroom was a sea of chaos when she entered it after work last Monday.
"There were drawers and clothes all over the place, they had pulled the mattress over, there was paperwork everywhere," she said.
"I haven't been in there since, I just can't bring myself to."
What concerned Ms Brady more than the lost belongings was that the burglars were not deterred by her presence in the home.
"It's scary to me that I was inside with the television up loud and they didn't care, they just broke in through my son's window," she said.
"It breaks my heart that my 11-year-old son said he doesn't want to live here because he doesn't feel safe."
The burglaries occurred on January 13 2015, January 29 2016 and April 3 this year.
Different methods were used to break into the house each time, from smashing the side sliding door with a rock, to forcing it open with a crow bar.
A private renter, Ms Brady said the landlord agreed to look into installing Crimsafe doors and security cameras in light of the latest robbery. Police attended each incident but had not contacted Ms Brady since.
The hardships had caused Ms Brady, a contractor, to take multiple days of unpaid leave.
After the latest robbery, she sent letters to her neighbours in the hope that someone heard a rock smash into the sliding door sometime between 8.30am and 6pm on April 3.
Reports of robbery, burglaries and theft had been slightly declining in the ACT in recent years. But in Rivett, there was a 55 per cent increase in reports of these crimes between 2012 and 2016, up from 42 to 65. However, there was a significant spike in 2015, when there were 114 reports.
ACT Policing could not comment on the details of Ms Brady's report due to privacy reasons. A police spokeswoman said property damage, burglaries of theft were classified as lower priority, or priority three, incidents.
"Police are required to respond to priority three incidents within 48 hours from the initial contact with the complainant, if it's determined that police attendance is required," the spokeswoman said.
Police urge anyone who sees suspicious activity to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or via the Crime Stoppers ACT website. Information can be provided anonymously.
