Family violence, stalking offences increase in Wyndham crime spike: new figures

Stalking offences have hit a 10-year high and terrifying family violence incidents continue to soar in in the west. We’ve broken down the latest crime statistics for Wyndham. See how your suburb fared.

Family violence and stalking and harassment incidents continue to rise across Wyndham.

Stalking and harassment offences in Wyndham have spiked, and the total tally of crime jumped 3.6 per cent in the past calendar year.

Figures released by the Crime Statistics Agency yesterday showed crime across the state had risen by 2 per cent.

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Throughout Wyndham stalking and harassment offences jumped 12.7 per cent, from 196 in 2017 to 221 last year.

There were also significant increases in theft (6 per cent), drug use and possession (12.7 per cent) and breaches of orders (26.9 per cent).

Family violence incidents rose 14.7 per cent, the statistics showed.

Here’s how your suburb fared.

ASSAULT

Three assaults occurred every day in Wyndham on average last year, with 1164 total incidents recorded.

Werribee South recorded the least assaults (15), according to the data.

THEFT

More than 4273 thefts were recorded across the municipality last year, up from 3862 in 2017.

But the number of burglaries dropped 22 per cent, from 1422 in 2017 to 1097 in 2018.

DRUG USE AND POSSESSION

More than 300 people in Wyndham were pinged for using drugs last year, while 68 people were charged with dealing and trafficking illicit substances.

BREACHES OF ORDERS

A total of 1332 breaches of court orders were recorded between January and December last year — 3.6 a day on average.

These offences include not adhering to bail conditions and contravening family violence and restraining orders.

WEAPONS AND EXPLOSIVES

Werribee was a weapons and explosives hotspot last year, accounting for more than half of these types of offences in Wyndham.

Victoria Police argued the increase in offences was a result of more police being on the beat making more arrests.

“What you see is more detected crime, more offenders being taken into custody. We expect that trend to continue,” Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton said.

“We are processing more offenders than ever before. We have a record number of offenders processed. We are holding people to account. We are managing offenders, and enforcing better.”

He also said: “Police are cracking down on bail offending. When people breach their bail, they are being taken back into custody and put back before the courts.”