Mandurah's traffic police had a successful weekend after seizing the vehicle of a reckless driver as a result of their dedication to cracking down on hooning.
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Senior Sergeant Ross Blake said Mandurah police were taking a recent influx of reports from residents seriously.
"We've gotten quite a few complaints around hooning in Dawesville, Erskine, Singleton and Secret Harbour," he said.
"Traffic police had excellent results over the weekend seizing the car of a hoon, but we know that's just one of about 10-15 reported."
Snr Sgt Blake said it was important for police to have as much detail in reports as possible in order to press charges, and he said there was more to prosecuting hooning than knowing which car was involved.
"We really need rego numbers and footage of people involved, it will help charges down the line.
"If we can't prove who was driving the vehicle at the time we are unable to seize the vehicle. Even with the rego, we can find who owns the car but it doesn't mean they were driving at the time. Ideally we would have evidence to prove who was driving there and then."
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He added that the reports from the public had been extremely helpful in their efforts so far this year, and that they were able to increase presence at hooning hotspots.
"People know we can't be everywhere all the time, but reports have helped us to identify some streets and areas which are particularly problematic."
Police have also joined forces with the City of Mandurah to discuss ways to repel hooning in the area.
"Going forward we are in discussions with City of Mandurah about road design to try and get rid of and negate areas that lend themselves to hooning."
The biggest issue, Snr Sgt Blake said, was that hoons didn't often think about the potential consequences of their actions.
"They might do it all the time and 99 out of 100 times nothing goes wrong. But if you lose control of that car for one second it can easily come off and hit someone or cause serious damage to property which would be devastating."
Snr Sgt Blake urged anyone with hooning complaints, footage or information to contact police on 131 444.
Samantha Ferguson
Samantha Ferguson is a journalist at the Mandurah Mail. She is an entertainment, sport, crime, community and education journalist with a special interest in investigative pieces and human interest stories.
Samantha Ferguson is a journalist at the Mandurah Mail. She is an entertainment, sport, crime, community and education journalist with a special interest in investigative pieces and human interest stories.
