At a time when publicity round youth crime is reaching fever pitch levels, another regional caravan park is set to install an automatic security gate.
A report prepared for a recent meeting of WA’s Shire of Menzies Council revealed that a gate was actually bought for more than $7,000 back in 2019 but was never installed at the town’s van park.
“It is not known why the installation of the gate was never carried out,” the report said.
However, there have since been complaints from both long-term residents and overnight visitors at Menzies Caravan Park about ‘feeling unsafe when unknown vehicles drive ‘laps’ around the caravan park’.
Apparently, there have also been issues with cattle entering the park, and customers from the nearby hotel walking into the park after functions.
Security gates are becoming an increasingly common 'welcome' to caravan parks. PIC: Pexels
Council officers said the installation of the gate would also stop people from trying to use the van park’s facilities without paying for them, and generally increase security and reduce vandalism.
The Menzies Caravan Park attracted just under 3,500 patrons in the 2021-22 financial year, and the Shire says it has built a positive reputation … with many visitors commenting how well it is maintained.
Council officers recommended that up to $20,000 be set aside to fund the installation of the new gate, which would either be operated using a mobile phone app or four to six digit security code.
Shire of Menzies president Greg Dwyer told the Kalgoorlie Miner newspaper that, once items were approved by the council and budgeted, it was up to the administration to carry through with the installation.
“I can speak to the fact that it not been an issue not having a gate on the park but what we’ve seen over the years since the caravan park has been upgraded is people come in and use the kitchen and not that we don’t mind them, but it’s nice to know if they were using it,” he said. “They’re sort of stepping around and doing it for nothing and yet people are paying for that service.”
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the boom will only stop the cars,nothing outside of a fully enclosed electric fence will stop the ones doing the stealing and using the toilets
Agree totally.
Only a tad more secure, but boom gates don’t keep thieves out …. Security Cameras as a addition would be a great idea ..
Boom gates reduce the options for the theft of the entire van, which has to be a good thing.
Not really – the bad guys simply duck under the boom. Or if there is a gate under it then they just walk around the ends.
Some years ago we stopped at the Dubbo town caravan park which had coded booms to both enter and depart. Also surrounding the park was a high fence topped with barbed wire and at intervals what looked like security cameras.
Yet during the early hours someone smashed a window on one of the parked cars and according to the owner took a bag from the front seat containing all of their money.
The odd thing about it is that nobody, including us, heard a thing yet the car was only across the road from us.
So, even with a boom at the front we still play it safe with locking up and keeping things out of sight.
Anything that helps increase security is a good thing but it all still comes down to being personally responsible for your own property.
Yes all caravan parks should have boom gates ,its good for the parks owner to be able to control how comes in and out of the park and gives a sense of security to the campers.
We were staying at a van park at Huskisson NSW with boom gates. The other caravan owners told us to keep all valuables hidden as cyclists riding past the fence looked out for valuables during the day and came through the park at night to steal them! There was no pedestrian boom gate.
Yes boom gate would stop someone stealing a van, and if they drove through the boom, someone would likely alert the police etc fairly quickly. I think they are a great idea, that and video security and much night lighting outside toilet/shower blocks and along paths. Unfortunate, but thats the way the world is going. But everyone also needs to see to their own security.