Burglary rates have increased to their highest-ever levels in Broome and Derby, according to police statistics, and victims of crime are taking to social media to try to recover their belongings.
Honey Taylor is hoping her father's ashes will be returned.
The ashes were contained in an acorn-shaped locket on a necklace, taken during a daylight break-in at a Broome home.
Police figures reveal there have been 124 home burglaries in Derby and 86 in Broome in the first three months of the year.
During this period, Operation Regional Shield was announced but the incident numbers show an increase in home burglaries in the two West Kimberley towns.
The statistics for post-March are not yet available, however, community leaders say it will be "interesting" to see the effect the police operation will have on the statistics for the second quarter of the year.
Father's ashes in stolen necklace
On Monday morning, thieves broke into Ms Taylor's home, which she shares with her partner and their housemate, and stole laptops, car keys, and jewellery.
Ms Taylor was "shocked" to find her precious acorn locket, containing the ashes of her father, had been stolen.
"It's not a money item for me; it's just having that back in my possession," she said.
After posting on a local community social media page, Ms Taylor was flooded with messages of sympathy but she was still yet to find her acorn locket.
Ms Taylor said she felt unsafe and immediately bought security cameras after the incident.
Another local, Christian Francois had recently moved to Broome to work as a chef.
But he nearly left the town, just days into his arrival, after thieves broke into his hotel room and stole his chef knives.
"It's really detrimental and upsetting because I came here for a new start and Broome is in desperate need of hospitality workers and to have this happen so often and so early, just makes things … not worth living here," Mr Francois said.
Police statistics show dwelling-based burglaries in Broome are the highest they have been since 2014, and Derby showed a similar peak in numbers. Kununurra and Fitzroy Crossing had their peaks in 2019 and 2018.
Derby had an average of 30 incidents in the first three months of the year. But the statistics showed an overwhelming 400 per cent increase in home burglaries between January and March this year.
Shire of Derby West Kimberley president Geoff Haerewa said the official numbers confirmed anecdotal evidence on the ground.
"The numbers don't lie," he said.
"It's four times worse than average for the past 10 years or so. They are the sort of numbers that we don't want happening.
"Operation Regional Shield will hopefully help. It'll be interesting to see what the numbers are like over the next 12 months."
Mr Haerewa said the numbers in Broome were surprising.
"Given the number of people in Broome and the resources that Broome has got … they're better positioned to handle the crime rate that's happening there," he said.
For Ms Taylor, the experience had shaken her but she insisted it was just a part of living in the Kimberley.
"You just sort of have to take it on the chin and keep moving if we want to be here," she said.
"I don't know what the solution is, but I will definitely be approaching things a little differently now."
