By Brittany Busch and Kieran Rooney
Repeat youth offenders have driven a 13.2 per cent rise in Victoria’s crime rate, now at its worst in almost a decade.
The latest Crime Statistics Agency data shows crimes committed by children aged 10 to 17 rose last year to their highest levels since electronic records began in 1993.
Repeat youth offenders are helping drive a rise in Victorian crime rates.Credit: Nine News
There were 7414 children arrested a combined 24,550 times in 2024, with 330 “hardened young offenders” arrested three or more times for violent crimes.
Victoria Police said the overall crime rate for 2024 – which factors in Victoria’s population growth – was 8691.6 offences per 100,000 people, up 13.2 per cent from 2023. This is the highest offence rate since 2016.
Deputy Commissioner Regional Operations Bob Hill said the crime rate was unacceptable and welcomed the Allan government’s new bail laws.
“Victoria Police is of the view that some of the crime rates could have been well and truly mitigated should this legislation have come earlier,” Hill said. “At the end of the day, we are guided by our political leaders. They set policy, they set legislation, and we are just one stakeholder.”
Police Minister Anthony Carbines defended the speed of the government’s response.
“We’ve worked as hard as we can to bring these laws before the parliament as soon as we can, and we won’t be leaving the parliament until they’re passed,” he said.
The new “toughest bail laws in the country”, which include a machete ban and extended police stop-and-search powers, have been criticised by youth and Aboriginal legal services for the risk they pose to vulnerable groups.
Hill said he was conscious of how the justice system might affect a young person, and police appreciated the need for rehabilitation, but that “there’s got to be a line in the sand”.
“Be assured that police are arresting the state’s worst young offenders again and again – youth gang members, child car thieves and underage burglars were arrested 3400 times last year,” he said.
According to the crime statistics, the rise in offences was being driven by fewer children breaking the law more often.
“The number of unique child offenders actually decreased by 3 per cent. However, the total number of repeat offenders increased by 4.9 per cent. In simple terms, there are less children committing crime, but those who continue to offend are doing so more frequently,” police said in a statement.
Home invasions reached record levels, driven by a “hardcore group” of offenders aged between 14 and 17.
Police Minister Anthony Carbines, Premier Jacinta Allan and Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny announcing changes to Victoria’s bail laws on March 12.Credit: AAP
Hill urged people to ensure they had removed valuables from their cars and made sure all home and car doors were locked, saying nine out of 10 aggravated burglaries involved criminals entering homes through open doors and windows.
Overall, 605,640 criminal offences were recorded last year – the most since 2016 – and 26,519 people were arrested a total of 73,539 times.
“That is a record for our organisation, certainly since records commenced in 1993, but I go as far as to say in our 172-year history, we’ve never arrested so many people,” Hill said.
Reported family violence incidents hit a record high, with 8482 offenders arrested 15,487 times.
“While youth crime is playing out on our streets and in our newspapers, the scourge of family violence carried out behind closed doors has hit record levels that see police responding to an incident every five minutes,” Hill said.
“Highly difficult economic times are also having a significant impact on crime, with financial pressures a common cause for family violence, while more people are resorting to stealing from shops to feed and clothe themselves and their family.”
Four of the top five fastest-growing crimes were theft-related, topped by theft from a motor vehicle and from a shop, which Hill said directly related to cost-of-living pressures.
The number of car thefts jumped 41 per cent last year, which police said was caused by cloning of electronic keys.
Premier Jacinta Allan said her government had increased funding for crime prevention programs, pointing to new youth justice laws that gave more support to Victoria Police to help divert young people from crime.
“We’ll continue to look at what further preventative measures need to be taken,” she said.
“But right now, we have a particular issue with a group of offenders who are engaging in a repeat pattern of behaviour with some of the worst of offences.”
Rising tensions over Victoria’s crime rates resulted in a shake-up in leadership at Victoria Police last month. On Wednesday, ousted deputy police commissioner Neil Paterson accused the state government of conspiring to clear the top levels of the force because it did not like the advice it was receiving.
Paterson was told in February his contract would not be renewed just days after chief commissioner Shane Patton resigned following a vote of no confidence from the police union.
Allan said the conspiracy allegations were “completely untrue”.
With Lachlan Abbott
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