Total offences in Bayside where Bec Judd’s mansion is are down 23 per cent despite crime claims

Rebecca Judd says crime around her $7.3 million bayside mansion is out of control. But a closer look at the statistics tells a different story.

Rebecca Judd says crime around her $7.3 million bayside mansion is out of control. But a closer look at the statistics tells a different story.

Judd wrote on social media that she feels “unsafe” in Brighton, an affluent suburb 13km southeast of the Melbourne CBD, after what she referred to as a series of “rapes, bashings and home invasions at the hands of gangs”.

“The State Government doesn’t seem to care,” she wrote on social media.

She said she knows two women who have personally “experienced home invasions in Brighton in the last few weeks while they were at home”.

Responding to a news story about a recent crime in the region on the Instagram page of Victorian state Liberal MP James Newbury, Judd wrote: “Have these teens been charged yet or just another slap on the wrist?”

Bec Judd models activewear from her brand Jaggad. Picture: Instagram

Bec Judd says crime in Brighton is on the rise.

Judd is not wrong to suggest there are notable crimes occurring in Brighton.

Over the weekend, police fired a shot at a car and arrested a teenage boy over an aggravated burglary.

The 14-year-old boy was arrested after a house on Cochrane Street was broken into about 1.30am on Saturday.

There were three other home invasions in Brighton last week. Seven boys, all children, were charged over two of those crimes, while police continue to investigate a third.

But is crime going up or down in bayside Melbourne? The answer is down.

What the crime statistics show

Official data from Victoria’s Crime Statistics Agency show total criminal incidents in the Bayside Local Government Area are down 18.8 per cent from 2020 to 2021.

The region that includes suburbs of Brighton, Hampton and Sandringham recorded 3347 total criminal incidents in 2021 compared to 4123 in 2020.

The statistics agency shows that “total offences recorded” are down 23 per cent.

Specifically in Brighton, where the Judds bought and renovated their family home, there were 999 incidents in 2021, down from 1153 in 2020.

Crime Statistics Agency data shows burglaries and break-ins are at a 10-year low where the Judds live.

Judd claims burglaries and break-ins are making her feel “unsafe”. Statistics show that “criminal incidents” for burglaries and break-ins in Bayside were down to their lowest level in 10 years last year.

Burglaries and break-ins were at their highest in 2017 when 685 were recorded. Last year they reached a 10-year low of 401.

What about those specifically in Brighton? There were 144 burglaries or break-ins in Brighton last year, which is the second lowest number in 10 years.

Bec Judd wants the Victorian Government to do more to fight crime in Bayside Melbourne, an area with the lowest crime rate of all southern metro LGAs. Picture: Instagram

Bayside the safest of all nearby regions for 10 straight years

Overall, the Bayside region experienced the lowest rate of crime for any region in the southern metro area of Victoria for a 10th year in a row.

While Bayside recorded 3347 total criminal incidents in 2021, there were 4787 in Cardinia, 5274 in Glen Eira, 6445 on the Mornington Peninsula, 6778 in neighbouring Kingston, 8073 in Stonnington, 8358 in Frankston, 9461 in Port Phillip, 11,671 in Greater Dandenong and 14,294 in Casey.

Sexual offences in Bayside are up by 10 from the previous year, the agency says. There were 87 sexual assault incidents last year, compared to 77 in 2020.

Comparatively, there were 189 in Frankston, 350 in Casey, 216 on the Mornington Peninsula and 205 in Kingston.

Assaults are steady in Bayside, too.

There were 277 assault and related offences in 2021, down from 294 the year before. Assaults have hovered between 270 and 280 for four of the previous six years.

Crime Statistics Agency data shows Bayside is the safest of any southern metro region for a 10th year in a row.

A Victorian Government spokesperson told news.com.au that additional resources have been confirmed in the state budget.

“We’re delivering an additional 502 police and 50 Protective Service Officers over the next two years to meet the growing needs of the state, building on the 3,135 new police officers already on our streets thanks to our record funding for Victoria Police – including 75 allocated to the Bayside area which services Brighton,” the spokesperson said.

“All Victorians receive a 24 hour police response, seven days a week, wherever they live. Police can and will be deployed to where they are needed, when they are needed.”

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews responded to Judd’s concerns on Sunday while speaking to reporters.

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

“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.”

Mr Andrews said Ms Judd “may have missed” May’s state Budget which included the deployment of more than 500 additional police officers and 50 protective services officers.

“I say this respectfully to Bec Judd, or anybody – I don’t want anybody to feel unsafe,” he said.

“I’m sorry she feels that way. The data would tell a different story, but it is about personal feelings and your sense of safety.

“I hope that knowing those things, or perhaps learning those things, puts her mind at ease.”

[e-mail] | @ro_smith