‘Woke, broke and violent’: Bec Judd slams handling of crime in Melbourne

Rebecca Judd has described Melbourne as “woke, broke and violent” as residents concerned about crime are encouraged to put Airtags in their cars.

Melbourne businesswoman and TV personality Rebecca Judd has described the city as “woke, broke and violent” when airing her latest concerns about violent crime.

The 41-year-old, who lives in the affluent suburb of Brighton with her husband, former AFL star Chris Judd, and their four children, has become known for being vocal on the issue in Melbourne, and particularly in the Bayside area where she lives.

“Melbourne this is sad. Woke, broke and violent. I can’t believe we are living like this,” she wrote on Instagram, reacting to a 3AW segment about residents being encouraged to put Apple Airtags in their cars.

Bec Judd has described Melbourne as “woke, broke and violent”. Picture: Mark Stewart

She lives in Brighton with her husband, Chris, and their four children. Picture: Instagram/Bec Judd

3AW host Jacqueline Felgate had interviewed shadow treasurer and Sandringham MP Brad Rowswell about a community safety forum held in Beaumaris on Thursday night.

“Historically, Victoria Police have said, and they reiterated this last night, you can replace a car but you can’t replace a life,” Mr Rowswell said on Friday.

“I get that but that’s a decision we’re having to make in Victoria at the moment, certainly in metropolitan Melbourne. It’s a pretty crappy decision to make. Their advice was leave your keys on the kitchen bench and get an Airtag and pop it in the boot of your car because some of these crooks know how to disable the tracking system on some of the modern cars.”

Mr Rowswell said the forum took place because his office had been inundated with safety concerns from people in the community. He said bail laws needed to be strengthened to stop reoffenders.

Victoria Police clarified to news.com.au placing an Apple AirTag in the boot of a car was brought up at the forum in response to residents asking how police can track stolen cars if a vehicle’s GPS is disabled, and it was noted that the suggestion wasn’t a bad one.

“This is in no way an instruction or recommendation of Victoria Police,” a police spokesman said.

He added: “Where you keep your car keys and other valuables within your own home is your own decision. However, police recommend keeping these items away from windows where they may be visible to opportunistic thieves.”

Victoria Police said if residents find themselves confronted or in danger, they should call police as soon as possible and get to safety.

“Any security decisions are up to each individual and it’s important to be clear the Bayside area is one of the safest places to live in Melbourne,” the spokesman said.

“Bayside has the third lowest number of offences of all 31 metropolitan LGAs. Almost 65 per cent of aggravated burglaries in Bayside last month were through unlocked doors/windows or unsuccessful attempts.”

Judd at the famous Brighton Beach boxes. Picture: Instagram/Bec Judd

Walking her Rhodesian ridgeback. Picture: Instagram/Bec Judd

Judd has been both praised for using her platform to bring attention to the issue of crime in her neighbourhood and criticised for complaining given her luxurious lifestyle.

Back in May 2022, Judd said she felt unsafe in her multimillion-dollar mansion and claimed the Victorian government didn’t “seem to care” or be doing anything about violent crime in Bayside.

She said she personally knew two women who had experienced home invasions in Brighton in recent weeks.

Then premier Daniel Andrews hit back at the comments, claiming “the data would tell a different story”.

“I’m not interested in having an argument with Ms Judd,” he said at the time.

“I’m also 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.”

Judd took aim at the state government and Premier Jacinta Allan again earlier this year after the Herald Sun revealed an “extreme” group of 80 repeat youth offenders had all been arrested more than 10 times in the past 12 months.

“Victoria Police are doing their job. The justice system and State Government are not,” Judd wrote alongside a screenshot of the article.

“@jacintaallanmp stays quiet while we wonder if a gang of machete wielding youths are going to invade our homes while our children sleep.

“Lock bail offenders up. Ban machetes and other weapons. There’s a start.”

There were 4385 criminal incidents recorded in Bayside in 2023 compared to 3756 in 2022, an increase of 16.7 per cent, according to the latest data from the Victorian Crime Statistics Agency. The top suburbs targeted in Bayside were Brighton, Brighton East and Hampton.

For aggravated burglaries by suburb – meaning someone is home at the time of the crime – Brighton came in at 16th in the state, with a total of 45 offences, according to analysis by the Herald Sun.

Bayside Mayor Fiona Stitfold wrote to Ms Allen and Police Minister Anthony Carbines in April calling for more police to address community safety issues.

“With Council doing all we can to support local community safety in partnership with local police, it is time for the Victorian Government to direct more attention and resources on this issue,” she said in a statement.

A Victorian Government spokeswoman, like police, told news.com.au on Monday that Bayside was one of Melbourne’s safest places to live.

“When factoring in the significant population growth across particular LGAs and across Melbourne over the past decade, overall crime remains at one of its lowest levels,” the spokeswoman told news.com.au.

“However we know that when these sorts of crimes do happen, their impact on victims can be devastating – everyone should feel safe in their own home.

“While Victoria has one of the lowest rates of youth offending in Australia, Victoria Police has identified a select cohort of young people who are driving an increase of repeat offences. To help address this, we will develop a trial of electronic monitoring – to ensure bail conditions are adhered to, accompanied with more intensive bail supervision.

“As part of Operation Trinity, police are out every single night until dawn addressing this type of offending, which is reflected in the high arrest and vehicle recovery rates.”

Victoria Police said it had arrested over 1400 burglars and car thieves as part of Operation Trinity over the past year and the overwhelming majority of those arrested were child and youth offenders.

Judd has 757,000 followers on Instagram and is co-founder of activewear brand Jaggad.

Last year, she competed on The Amazing Race: Celebrity Edition.

Her previous television roles have included hosting Postcards and presenting weekend weather on Nine News Melbourne.