Youths behind huge spike in robberies across Melbourne

Aggravated burglaries have doubled in 11 Melbourne council areas, despite an around-the-clock policing operation. These are the worst-hit areas.

Aggravated burglaries have doubled in 11 Melbourne council areas in the past two years as police battle to hold back extraordinary rates of youth crime.

That’s despite a around-the-clock policing operation across areas that have become popular targets for thieves, including Boroondara, Manningham, Monash, Whitehorse, Dandenong, Casey, Cardinia, Kingston, Glen Eira and Bayside.

In some parts of Melbourne, aggravated burglaries have tripled in that time, including in Manningham, Monash and Whitehorse.

Meanwhile, residential break-ins in some of Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, such as Boroondara, Knox, Latrobe and Whitehorse, have doubled.

Similar spikes have been reported out north and in the west, with burglaries in Banyule rising by 175 per cent, and doubling in Whittlesea.

The number of reported residential burglaries in Kingston has also doubled, and Yarra, Glen Eira and Casey all rose by 75, 86 and 73 per cent respectively.

Burglaries in Port Phillip rose by 54 per cent and across the Mornington Peninsula by 67 per cent.

The number of teenagers committing robberies rose drastically in the past year.

Homes in regional Victoria fell victim to thieves at similar rates, with burglaries in Corangamite more than tripling, and more than doubling in Baw Baw in Nillumbik.

Golden Plains saw a 166 per cent spike, while burglaries in Bendigo almost doubled.

There was also a 75 per cent increase in robberies across Colac-Otway suburbs.

Not all of the aggravated burglaries are carried out by youth offenders but sources say they are the main driver of that category’s surge.

But the latest crime data showed robberies committed by kids aged between 14 and 17 spiked 45 per cent over the past year.

The number of aggravated residential burglaries rose by another 18 per cent, hitting 6,445 for the year to June compared to 5,461 in the prior year.

The results come despite Victoria Police committing huge resources to the scourge, particularly in the eastern and southern suburbs where rates have been on the rise for a decade.

Operation Trinity – which is the latest crackdown – has been operating for 18 months with around 70 members dedicated every night to driving down offending.

One seasoned officer said Trinity was getting results and numbers would be much worse without it.

He said police were at a disadvantage on a number of levels against offenders who were increasingly organised and street-smart.

The teens know police are severely restricted by their pursuit policy and use apps to track helicopters when they are following them.

Those wanting to lose a chopper will drive to underground car parks and dump a vehicle.

The officer said even when caught, custodial sentences were rarely handed down against the young, which might offer some respite from some of the worst offenders.

“They just get bail after bail after bail,” he said.

Vehicle-motivated aggravated burglary has shown no sign of decreasing as teens zero in on softer residential targets.

“No one does shop burgs or industrial burgs. You go to a house and you get a $150,000 car,” the officer said.

Originally published as Youths behind huge spike in robberies across Melbourne