Burglary hotspots in Victoria revealed in crime data

Victorians’ concerns are rising over burglary rates, but some areas of the state are more dangerous than others. See where the hotspots are.

Victorians’ concerns are rising over burglary rates, but some areas of the state are more dangerous than others according to the latest crime data.

The City of Casey had the most homes broken into in Victoria with 1174 residential burglaries reported to police in 2023, according to the Crime Statistics Agency.

Berwick was the Casey suburb with the highest number of incidents, with a total of 203.

Greater Geelong was close behind with 1140, followed by Monash with 1076 break-ins.

Earlier this month, three Irish nationals were hit with a slew of charges after allegedly orchestrating more than 60 burglaries across Melbourne since they arrived in January.

The trio hit homes in Templestowe, Blackburn, Doncaster, Narre Warren and Hampton Park and allegedly stole more than $1m of property, including cash and jewellery.

“The majority of these offences occurred while the occupants were away from their homes,” Victoria Police said in a statement.

“After breaking into homes, the trio allegedly used cleaning products in an attempt to cover their tracks.”

The seaside Borough of Queenscliffe was the safest place in Victoria with only two break-ins reported last year.

Proportionate to its population however, the local government area of Mildura had the highest rate of home burglaries.

Aggravated burglaries – meaning someone is home at the time of the crime – occurred in Mildura at a rate of 238.3 per 100,000 population.

Non-aggravated burglaries were more than twice as common, with 535.7 per 100,000.

The Mildura township was where most burglaries occurred, accounting for 91 per cent of aggravated burglaries and 76 per cent of non-aggravated burglaries in the LGA.

Though the total number of residential burglaries reported to police in Victoria has decreased 23 per cent in the last decade, aggravated burglary reports were up an alarming 139 per cent since 2014, according to the Crime Statistics Agency data.

For non-residential properties, Melbourne was the most dangerous place in the state, and the city is propelled to the top of the list for total number of burglaries when all properties are considered, not just homes.

On Tuesday, brazen thieves burgled a Geelong steak restaurant, making off with a safe weighing 100kg, and Port Melbourne’s Rex Hotel was also targeted last week.