Crime in Victoria has increased by nearly 10 per cent to its highest level in a decade, driven by significant rises in young offenders committing violent crimes.
Crime Statistics Agency data, which covers 12 months to June 2024, showed that children aged 10 to 17 recorded 23,236 incidents – the age group’s highest level of offending since 2010, according to Victoria Police.
According to the report released on Thursday, children aged 14 to 17 were responsible for most of youth crime in Victoria, with 20,054 incidents. There was also a 4 per cent increase in offending among the 10-to-13-year age group, with 3181 reported incidents.
Victoria Police processed 7380 child offenders a combined 23,236 times in the past 12 months, an increase of more than 20 per cent from last year.
They said young offenders were increasingly involved in robberies, car thefts, overall crimes and assaults.
At the start of July, Victoria Police created new crime reduction teams across Melbourne and Geelong. The team’s two main objectives were preventing further offending and providing support pathways to encourage rehabilitation.
Acting Deputy Commissioner regional operations Chris Gilbert said police understood people in the community “are anxious about the increasing prevalence of intruders entering homes”.
“Police continue to see far too many properties burgled and cars stolen due to unlocked doors and windows, so we urge the community to take simple measures such as checking your home and car is locked before heading to bed,” he said.
In August, Premier Jacinta Allan abandoned plans to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14, after months of renewed focus on youth crime.
Currently, children as young as 10 can be arrested, charged and jailed in juvenile detention, but a bill before parliament will lift the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 12.
Youth crime in Victoria has risen again.Credit: Paul Rovere
Last year, overall criminal offences across Victoria reached the highest levels since 2014; after accounting for population growth, it was the fifth-highest spike in the past decade.
Minister for Police Anthony Carbines said the statistics were disappointing, but that Victoria Police was working harder than ever before to hold offenders to account.
“What we’re ... seeing is that there is a particular cohort of young offenders, repeat offenders, who continue to disregard the law,” he said during a Thursday press conference.
“What we’re doing is demonstrating the statistics that 70,000 people have been arrested and held to account for breaking the law, so they’re absolutely working.”
Opposition police and youth justice spokesman Brad Battin criticised the state government’s approach to youth crime and expressed concern over the surge in car thefts and aggravated burglaries.
“Jacinta Allan and her government continuously have their heads in the sand when it comes to youth crime,” he said on Thursday morning.
“We’ve seen a 20 per cent increase, year-on-year, of crime committed by those under the age of 18 and we’ll continue to see that increase.”
RMIT criminologist Marietta Martinovic said it was important to interpret the data with context.
“There has been so much media attention on youth crime, so people are more likely to report it and more likely to fear it,” she said.
Martinovic said some young people’s quest for notoriety on social media was propelling increased offending.
She said the long-term effects of the COVID-19 lockdowns on young people were yet to be seen.
“Post pandemic, we’ve seen a drop in school attendance and increase in waiting times for mental health support, plus we are dealing with a cost-of-living crisis. These are all contributing factors to youth crime involvement,” she said.
Martinovic said early intervention techniques such as peer groups were essential for youth offenders.
“Punishment-related approaches for youth crime will not solve crime. It will just perpetuate offending and increase the likelihood of that person engaging in the criminal justice system.”
Crime Statistics Agency figures also showed a substantial increase in family violence incidents, with 98,816 incidents in the 12 months to June 2024 – a 6.1 per cent increase.
Property and deception offences also increased by 14.4 per cent, their highest level since 2014.
CSA chief statistician Fiona Dowsley said the increase was driven by theft, burglary, property damage and breaking and entering.
“Family incidents and assaults have reached the highest levels in a decade, with a notable rise in aggravated assaults on females and breaches of intervention orders, often accompanied by criminal damage,” she said.
The youth crime statistics come days after police arrested a teenager over the stabbing death of a 16-year-old boy in a shopping centre in Melbourne’s north-west.
Oscar Hamilton was found with life-threatening injuries at the outdoor food court of Woodgrove Shopping Centre in Melton West just before midday Tuesday. First responders started CPR, but the boy from Harkness died at the scene.
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