By AIDAN KNIGHT
FOR the second time in five weeks, local not-for-profit and equal opportunity employer, Latrobe Valley Enterprises has been made the victim of extensive vandalism.
Latrobe Valley Enterprises (LVE) is a diverse business focusing on hiring and providing meaningful employment to people with disabilities.
This vision has taken a harsh blow, with LVE left shocked to learn they have been the victim of senseless ramraids, not once, but twice, in just over a month.
In the early hours of May 17, CCTV footage captured two vehicles ramming a roller door to gain access to the industrial site of the LVE site at Princes Drive Morwell, before driving directly into the ATM machine utilised for the Container Deposit Scheme.
The ATMs are left open every night, with no cash kept on premises, so there is no need for any breaking if the intention is to take cash from the machines.
The trespassers never exited their vehicles or even attempted to locate any cash from the machine throughout the entirety of the event, making it nothing more than an act of senseless vandalism.
The cost of the roller door, ruined ATM and various equipment damaged in the incident cost the company close to $100,000, and the destruction didn’t stop there.
Two vehicles once again penetrated the roller door and destroyed the new ATM on June 21, only three weeks after the business had reopened.
The damage was more extensive the second time, exceeding $100,000, and once again forcing the business to close for recovery.
“The repercussions of these incidents extend far beyond financial loss, although that can’t be underestimated; $200,000 plus damage in five weeks and two of those weeks we were closed, resulting in loss of revenue,” LVE chief executive, Suzzanne Lewis said.
“Our team works incredibly hard for everything they have, and it’s disheartening to see that some members of the community do not respect their working environment.
“Our people living with disabilities find this very hard to understand and fathom. The total disrespect to their workplace,” Ms Lewis lamented.
While it is obviously disheartening and a strain on any business to be subject to such unwarranted attacks, it also has a broader impact on the community. People who rely on LVE are now unable to access it’s services for a period of time.
“Eventually, when businesses keep getting hit like that you can’t keep bouncing back,” Ms Lewis said.
“Particularly when we’re talking about this, that sort of money, and they’ve got nothing.
“It (the deposit scheme) cleans up our streets. It saves landfill, because about 75 per cent of the containers are coming through the container deposit scheme. So it’s a win-win for the community, and these people have gone and made it harder to access for the community, twice now.”
LVE has a depot located at 40 Bell St Moe for anyone wishing to access the Container Deposit Scheme during the Morwell depot’s closure.
Ms Lewis is aware that not everyone accessing the scheme has the means to do so, which adds other disappointment to the whole event.
It is unclear if these incidents are linked, or were perpetrated by repeat offenders, as stolen vehicles were used in the vandalism on both occasions. Both occurred between 2.30am and 4am.
While the company wasn’t slacking in security by any means previously, having been fitted with multiple cameras and alarms, these measures seem to have had no effect deterring the modern criminal.
As a result, LVE has had to progress prevention further, organising for their ATM to be shielded by concrete, and the installation of several bollards in front of the roller doors to hopefully prevent a third visit from the empty-handed bandits.
Initially, LVE didn’t publicise the vandalism, but after the second incident, Lewis said “we felt people needed to fully understand the reason behind the closures”, and the frequency of them.
An official update was made to the LVE Facebook page on June 24, which has since received more than 300 shares.
The post was made to raise awareness about the situation and extent of the damage caused, stating “It’s important to note that these individuals have not and will not gain anything from their actions, a total waste of time but a lot of damage caused.”
