How Geelong police are tackling youth crime spike amid Melbourne link

Geelong police are closely monitoring Melbourne’s spiralling youth crime crisis amid concerns offenders are using the ring road to target the regional city.

Youth crime offending has risen in Greater Geelong in line with a statewide spike, with Geelong police committed to tackling the issue. Picture: Karen Dodd

Geelong police are closely monitoring Melbourne’s spiralling youth crime crisis amid concerns some offenders are using the ring road to target suburban areas.

It comes as new data shows crimes committed by children under 18 has spiked by 36 per cent across Greater Geelong, with the city’s top cop outlining how the force is getting ahead of the curve to combat offending.

There were 1,208 offences recorded by those aged 10 to 17 in 2024, a jump from 882.

Superintendent Michael Reid said highway patrol teams have been using specialist technology to identify vehicles of interest suspected to be travelling from the state capital.

Geelong Highway Patrol units have been monitoring the Geelong Ring Rd. Picture: Mark Wilson.

“We are working closely with neighbouring divisions in Melbourne to see where the cross border activity does occur, that is where youths are coming down to offend in Geelong,” he said.

“Historically this has not been the case, but lately yes, we are seeing more of this.”

He said youths were using the different access routes off the Geelong Ring Road amid an alarming statewide rise in car theft.

“That can expose some of our more southern suburbs,” he said.

“We have night shift highway units that patrol these corridors and other main arterial corridors.

“Youth crime is one of our priorities in our division and we’re trying to get ahead of the offending before it occurs.”

Superintendent Michael Reid says Geelong police are being proactive on youth crime. Alison Wynd

Figures, released by Crime Statistics Agency on Thursday, showed that the overall crime rate across Greater Geelong was up by 11 per cent, with 18,509 criminal incidents in 2024, a jump from 16,670 in 2023.

The top offence in the region was theft from a motor vehicle with 2,242 offences in 2024, up from 2,103 in 2023.

On the Surf Coast, crime has remained steady at 1,293 offences recorded in 2024, only 87 more than in 2023.

The data also revealed the state’s youth crime and overall crime rate was at an all-time high.

Crimes committed by children under 18 has risen to their highest levels since records began in 1993.

Superintendent Reid said the Geelong unit was collaborating with agencies to identify vulnerable teens and higher risk youth offending.

“With youth crime we are one of few divisions across the state that has a youth tasking unit,” he said.

“We are the only division in Western region that has a crime reduction team and we work really closely to identify youth offending.

“We have plans in place to engage them and to steer them away from offending.”

Chief statistician from Crime Statistics Agency, Fiona Dowsley, said the rate of theft offences being recorded per 100,000 Victorians had exceeded historical peaks.

It has been driven by record-high numbers of steal from motor vehicle, steal from retail store and motor vehicle theft offences recorded by Victoria Police in 2024.

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Originally published as How Geelong police are tackling youth crime spike amid Melbourne link