Disturbing trend emerges after state reveals ‘unwanted’ milestone

New data shows police are responding to a family violence incident every five minutes in Victoria – a disturbing sign as the state reaches a particularly grim milestone.

According to new data released by Victoria Police, the crime rate has increased by 10.9 per cent over the last 12 months ending September.

While these rates are lower than the highs of 2016, there’s still been an increase in criminal activity, with police issuing almost 200 arrests a day – the most arrests since 2005.

More than 500,000 criminal offences were recorded in Victoria over the last 12 months to September, a staggering 13.4 per cent increase compared to the year before.

Victoria hits grim family violence milestone

There have been several reasons for this increase in crime, deputy commissioner regional operations Neil Paterson said, driven by a surge in family violence.

“For the first time ever, Victoria reached the unwanted milestone of more than 100,000 family violence incidents – meaning police responded to a family violence incident every five minutes,” he said.

There were 30 family violence related homicides over the last year, 12 of which were in regional Victoria.

Driving factors of the escalating family violence includes “a tough economic climate”, drug and alcohol abuse, higher levels of unemployment and an increase in technology-enabled stalking and harassment, particularly among former intimate partner relationships.

For many, victims in regional areas may be too afraid to speak up about the family violence, as they live in small and close-knit areas and may be fearful of the reputational status their abuser may hold within a small community.

Domestic violence: Where to get help

The study found repeat family violence offenders are more prevalent in regional areas, with rates of harassment, violence and rape increasing at a higher rate regionally than in Melbourne.

These rates traditionally skyrocket at Christmas, with police responding to 372 family violence incidents in 2023, compared to 279 the year before.

“Sadly, the festive and new year period is not a happy time in all homes, with family violence offences increasing sharply on Christmas Day last year,” Mr Paterson said.

Burglaries and car theft

There’s also been an increase in burglaries across the state, with Victoria Police reporting 3.564 more than the year before.

However, these figures remain “well below” levels from earlier in the last decade.

“For example, there were 36,632 homes broken into in 2016 – 8,200 more than current levels,” a statement from Victoria Police read.

In contrast, the number of aggravated burglaries has skyrocketed, increasing to 6,927 this year compared to 5,587 the year before.

The majority of these aggravated burglaries occur in Melbourne and metropolitan areas, a third of which were linked to car theft.

“Summer is peak season for burglars and car thieves who prey upon people leaving doors and windows open as the mercury rises,” Mr Paterson said.

“While we’ll continue to be out in force every night as part of Operation Trinity, we urge the community to take simple home security steps, such as checking all doors and windows are locked before heading to bed as well as ensuring their cars are locked.”

Child and youth crime

Over the 12 months ending September, there has been a 13.5 per cent increase in child and youth crime, with offenders aged between 10 and 24 responsible for more than 50,000 combined incidents.

While child offenders account for approximately 10 per cent of overall crime rates, Victoria Police revealed they account for one quarter of all aggravated burglary offenders and half of all robbery offenders.

Despite these figures, there has been a reduction in the number of individual children committing crimes

“While child and youth crime has again increased, there are some positive signs with less first-time offenders aged between 10 and 17, as well as continual decreases in the number of youth offenders aged between 18 and 24 being processed,” Mr Paterson said.

“Heading into the new year, we’ll continue to target Victoria’s worst child and youth offenders as we did this year – every day, police arrested nine youth gang members, child burglars and underage car thieves as part of Operation Alliance and Operation Trinity.”