Victorian crime statistics reveal Bec Judd was right about Brighton

Months after the WAG claimed to feel unsafe in her posh suburb amid a spate of “rapes, bashings and home invasions”, new data has come to light.

They say numbers don’t lie, and when it comes to the rise of crime in plush Melbourne suburbs, it turns out Bec Judd was telling the truth.

The entrepreneur and model came under fire from the Victorian Premier earlier this year after she claimed she felt unsafe in her $7.3m mansion in Brighton, in the Bayside local government area.

The mother of four claimed the Victorian government didn’t “seem to care” about a spate of “rapes, bashings and home invasions” in the suburb.

Daniel Andrews hit back, saying the data “told a different story”.

But new data released from Victoria Police on Thursday shows the crime trends from around the state over the 12 months to June 2022, revealing aggravated burglaries are indeed up in Brighton.

Bec Judd in her Brighton kitchen. Picture: Instagram

In the 2020/2021 financial year, 88 residential aggravated burglaries were recorded in the posh suburb, but in the past 12 months, there were 120 incidents.

Robberies have decreased, with 27 offences recorded in the year to June 30, down one in 2020/21 but up 11 on 2019/20.

Assaults in the Bayside local government area remained steady at 350 (compared with 343 in 2020/21) but have increased from 2019/20 when there were just 316 incidents recorded.

Bayside, however, has witnessed a drop in property damage – with 400 offences in 2021/22, down from 409 the year prior.

The mother of four claimed in May that she wanted the state government to do more to protect the suburb of Brighton from rising crime, a claim Premier Daniel Andrews disputed. Instagram

In May, Judd wrote on social media that she “personally know(s) two women who have experienced home invasions in Brighton in the last few weeks while they were at home” and residents “feel unsafe”.

In response, Mr Andrews said he did not want to have an argument with Judd.

“I’m … obliged to point out, though, I think there are more than 70 additional police in the Bayside area, and the most recent crime statistics released by an independent agency would not support those sweeping assessments about patterns of crime,” he said.

“I don’t want anybody to feel unsafe … The data would tell a different story.”

A Victoria Police spokesman said Bayside remained an overwhelmingly safe place to live.

Victorian Premier Dan Andrews hit back at Ms Judd’s claims when she first made them, suggesting data didn’t back up her claim. Picture NCA NewsWire / Ian Currie

Bec Judd. AAP Image/Julian Smith

Ms Judd said residents in her local area didn’t feel safe. Picture: Instagram

He said the overall offence trend was down by 246 from 2015 and Moreland was the only metropolitan local government area with fewer offences.

The 385 burglaries was down from 477 in 2020 and 585 in 2017.

The spokesman said Bayside was 24th in burglary rankings by council area.

Residential aggravated burglaries went from 88 to 120.

“The increase in aggravated burglaries in Bayside was consistent with state-wide trends,” he said.

“This is largely due to the increased likelihood of people being at home due to WFH arrangements, sickness and COVID restrictions. As a result, aggravated burglaries were more likely to occur, as by their definition they require another person to be home when the offender enters.

“Alternatively, this meant non-aggravated burglaries were less likely to occur and that is reflected in the state-wide and Bayside data.”

The spokesman said there had been 15 home invasions in Bayside in the past five years.

They are defined as aggravated burglaries carried out by multiple armed offenders.

“By comparison, suburbs who have recorded higher number of home invasions are seeing approximately 25 – 30 home invasions occurring each year,” he said.

“We do know the impact these types of crimes can have on how safe people feel in their homes and in their neighbourhoods, and everyone has the right to feel safe in their own community.”

Around the state, Deputy Commissioner of Regional Operations, Rick Nugent said crime rates in general were falling.

“There are plenty of encouraging signs – the lowest number of home burglaries since 1993, least robberies since 2005, lowest number of cars stolen since 2011, decreasing family violence rates, less assaults, and reduced numbers of firearm and weapon offences,” he said.

Originally published as Victorian crime statistics reveal Bec Judd was right about Brighton