The past few days have got me thinking about how we as a community react when a crime is committed.
Somewhat sadly, the endless finger pointing, pessimism and all-too-often victim blaming all stand out.
Now before I launch into this column I'd like to get it on the record that in no way, shape or form am I trying to redirect anyone's moral compass - I'm not here to preach.
But my small observations did get me wondering: why are we so quick to lay blame on those who don't deserve it?
Earlier this week I found myself reporting on several car break-ins and thefts that occured over the weekend, specifically in Halls Head (refer to page five).
Now as a journalist (or any regular person, for that matter), you'd usually hear of these occurrences via the local Facebook pages.
But oddly enough I first caught a glimpse of the break-ins at my sister-in-law's house on Monday morning, where we unfortunately discovered her passenger side window had been smashed in overnight (thankfully nothing was stolen).
However, eventually I did come across a barrage of Facebook posts from locals eager to express their disappointment after being the victims of break-ins themselves.
Scrolling the comments on these posts I couldn't help but feel disappointed myself.
The obvious "don't leave your belongings in the car then" made a frequent appearance, and the more extreme "you deserve to have your window smashed in if you're that stupid" was never far behind.
I'm not going to dispute that these people raise some valid points. I'm a serial offender for leaving my belongings in the car and I'm also aware of how stupid that is, but at the end of the day, do we really need to pile more insults onto these victims?
I just think we should all try a little harder to remember who the bad people are in these situations.
Justin Rake is a journalist with the Mandurah Mail