Latest data reveal worst local government areas in Victoria for youth crime
New data has revealed which Victorian LGAs have the most alleged youth criminals. Use our interactive map to see how your suburb compares.
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New data has revealed which Victorian LGAs have the most alleged youth criminals.
Police said in March that child criminals were the biggest concern for officers with youth gangs continuing to plague police.
Use our interactive map below to see how your area stacked up for crime by alleged offenders aged 10 to 17 for the year ending December 2023.
1. Casey
Casey tops Victoria’s LGAs for the most alleged crimes committed by youth offenders.
In 2023, there were 1291 such recorded incidents, an increase of more than 280 compared with the previous year.
Casey also represents the highest total number of alleged youth offences in the past decade – 9753.
2. Melbourne
Youth crime in Melbourne CBD nearly doubled from 2022 to 2023, jumping from 577 alleged incidents to 1122.
The same category of incidents has not reached beyond the 1000 mark since 2017.
Total incidents in the past 10 years fall short by comparison only with Casey and Greater Geelong.
Such incidents continue: five teens were charged just this week after allegedly leading police on a high-speed chase through Melbourne in stolen cars.
And on Friday, a 16-year-old on two sets of bail when he allegedly wielded a baseball bat during a horror group attack on a man was granted bail again, despite a judge saying: “I don’t believe in third chances”.
3. Latrobe
Youth crime in Latrobe is at comparable levels to 2018, but higher than any year in between.
The LGA recorded 1008 instances of alleged offending by people aged 10 to 17.
In mid-2023 police charged two teens after an alleged assault left a young man fighting for life in the Latrobe Valley.
4. Wyndham
Alleged offending in Wyndham reached 981 recorded incidents in 2023, 90 more than the year prior.
Youth crime statistics hovered between 500 and 700 in the LGA between 2015 and 2019, increasing in 2020 to nearly 850 and rising each year since.
In February this year, a court heard a youth gangster behind bars bragged to his sister about how he and his mates robbed a supermarket, while the group’s ringleader faced the music for his role in the terrifying armed robberies.
Over 10 years, however, total such incidents remain below 7000 – more than 1000 fewer than in Casey, Melbourne, and Latrobe.
5. Greater Geelong
Crime figures for Greater Geelong in 2023 were lower than between 2016 and 2019, but higher than in the past three years at 921.
Geelong has the second-highest figures over a 10-year period behind Casey.
6. Frankston
Frankston is the first LGA whose 2023 youth crime figures drop below 900.
It recorded 735 alleged offences, higher than any year since 2017.
7. Kingston
Kingston’s youth crime numbers have been fewer than Frankston’s every year in the past decade, but in 2023 the two areas were closer than ever to having matching figures.
Despite Kingston having comparatively fewer alleged offences since 2014 (4347 compared to Frankston’s 6461), data for last year show a one-year difference of just 21.
Kingston’s figure of 714 also marks the highest the statistic has been in 10 years, as well as the only time it has reached above 500.
8. Mornington Peninsula
Mornington Peninsula’s youth crime increased by 177 offences in 2023 compared with 2022, a rise of about 37 per cent.
Figures were in the 300s from 2018 to 2021, but rose to 479 in 2022 before the most recent escalation.
In early 2023, frustrated Western Port locals banded together to stop bored youths wreaking havoc across their towns.
Just a month after these statistics were reported, a group of three teenagers allegedly pushed an elderly man off the Mornington pier.
The Peninsula has a similar number of overall youth offences to Kingston when taking a decade-long view (4368).
9. Whittlesea
Whittlesea recorded 649 cases of alleged youth crime in 2023, up from 526 the previous year.
It’s the highest figure since 2019 (603) and more than 13 per cent of the past decade’s total youth offences.
10. Greater Bendigo
The highest youth crime figures in 10 years were recorded in Greater Bendigo in 2023.
The LGA experienced 627 incidents throughout the year.
That marks a 12-month increase of a little more than 10 per cent.
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