A police officer holidaying in WA's far north has cut travel plans short after a break-in at her accommodation left her traumatised.
Keely Allport and her partner were holidaying in a van through WA before pulling up in Broome for birthday celebrations and further travel through the Kimberley.
The officer had booked into accommodation for the night of her partner's birthday on April 24 but was woken up in the early hours of the morning to loud noises and torchlight shining through the window.
She said a group of four youths had entered the property and searched through their belongings, taking credit cards and cash.
Ms Allport said she chased the group away from the property but the incident had left her feeling shaken.
"I was angry more than anything," she said.
"I couldn't do anything about it and felt a bit helpless."
Ms Allport said she had researched the Kimberley and had joined online forums about van travel through the area.
"We hadn't heard of any incidences of crime like this," she said.
"I wanted somewhere we could walk around at night-time and feel safe to go out and I had not heard anything bad about Broome.
"Everywhere I looked it was all the Northern Territory, Darwin, and Alice Springs."
Ms Allport said she was on a career break but had worked as a police officer for nearly 17 years and had spent eight years working in the APY lands in South Australia.
She said she was blindsided by the trouble they encountered.
"I'm fully aware of the problems that happen in small communities with youth crime," Ms Allport said.
"It's not that I'm a naive traveller: I'm very aware and very safety-conscious travelling to remote areas."
Ms Allport said her partner was traumatised by the incident.
"Every noise that we hear wakes her up and it wakes me up, and we're just constantly on edge," she said.
"I don't know how to get over that or what else we could possibly do."
The couple left Broome and travelled up the highway to Halls Creek on Saturday, where they ran into further trouble.
Ms Allport said they were parked at a service station when a group of young people surrounded the van, shaking it while the couple were inside and later throwing rocks at the vehicle.
Ms Allport said she was in disbelief.
"What happened in broad daylight at 10 o'clock in the morning in front of a lot of people, I've never encountered that," she said.
"I couldn't believe it, I was so shocked."
The couple drove to the police station where they waited for another caravan to accompany them to Kununurra.
The ABC has recently reported on the ongoing prevalence of youth crime in Halls Creek, with community leaders calling for additional government support to address the issue.
Travel plans diverted
Ms Allport said she then decided to change their plans and head to Queensland before going home to Adelaide.
"We're definitely not going to stay around; we're going to change our plans completely," she said.
"I don't want my partner to feel on edge this whole time and not sleep.
"I'm going to do what we need to do to make this trip salvageable and not have a sour taste in our mouths anymore."
Broome police said the matter was still under investigation.
