Over the New Year's break the Mandurah Mail will be taking a look back at the year that was 2019.
Our annual Year in Review will recount the biggest story from each of the past 12 months.
Mandurah was making headlines for the wrong reasons in June.
Smart Street Mall descended into chaos on the last weekend of the month, with a violent street brawl captured on video by a nightclub patron.
The shocking mobile phone footage, shot at 2.15am, showed more than 20 people involved in a fight, with security attempting to intervene.
Norma Jeans nightclub patrons were heard cheering and clapping from the balcony. The incident followed a stabbing on June 15, after detectives alleged an argument within Norma Jeans nightclub escalated to a street fight.
Greenfields man Brodie Adam Kiernan, 20, is due to reappear in Perth Magistrates Court on January 8, 2020 charged with committing an unlawful act or omission with intent to harm. He has not yet entered a plea.
That same day, a 71-year-old man was the victim of an alleged unprovoked attack by two men, while setting up his fruit stall along Smart Street Mall, about 4am. The incident was captured on CCTV. Lachlan Steven Boogaard-Mitchell, 19, has pleaded not guilty to unlawful assault occasioning bodily harm and stealing.
He pleaded guilty to behaving in a disorderly manner. Mr Boogard-Mitchell is due to reappear in the Mandurah Magistrates Court on February 17, 2020.
Tyler Micheal Tann-Green pleaded guilty to disorderly behaviour in public and destroying victim Salvatore Baldacchino's watermelon and stealing his apple.
Mandurah Detectives also investigated six home burglaries believed to be committed by the same offenders between 9pm on Thursday June 27 and 3am on Friday June 28. The offenders forced entry or entered the homes, threatened the occupants and stole at least four cars over the evening.
The car pictured above was recovered from the estuary near Donnelly Gardens in Dudley Park.
But, despite the surge, former Mandurah District Senior Sergeant Darren Hart said there had been a decrease in offences over the past two years.
He said reports were "trending downwards", with 1044 reported assaults in 2017 and 945 reported assaults in 2018.
"In terms of assault offences, from July 1 last year to now, personal assaults are about 340," he said.
"In a community of about 87,000 people, your chances of being the victim of a personal assault are very slim indeed. The majority of those cases are when the parties are known to each other, like the neighbour next door or two friends who have had too much to drink.
"Your risk of being the victim of an assault, putting family violence aside, is very small."
