Crime has fallen for the fifth quarter in a row, with burglary and break and enter offences the lowest in a decade and the victimisation rate the lowest in 5 years, following the Andrew Labor Government’s record community safety investment.
Minister for Police Lisa Neville joined Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton today to welcome the latest statistics from the independent Crime Statistics Agency (CSA).
The crime rate in Victoria fell 7 per cent in the year to 30 June 2018, while the number of recorded offences is also down.
The rate of burglary and break and enter offences has declined by 18 per cent and is now at the lowest level on CSA record.
The rate of aggravated robbery dropped 6 percent, bringing it down to below what is was in 2011, 2012 and 2013, while the rate of aggravated burglary fell 12.3 per cent.
At the local level, crime is also falling, with 64 out of 79 local government areas experiencing a decrease in their crime rate compared to the previous 12 months.
Importantly, the CSA data also shows that family violence continues to be one of the most significant contributors of violence against the person in our state.
That’s why the Labor Government has funded 415 new family violence police around the state. These specialist frontline police work in communities to prevent this crime and identify risk early to protect Victorian families.
This is in addition to the Labor Government’s historic $2.6 billion investment into the prevention of family violence. Recommendations from the Royal Commission are currently being rolled out to boost police capability and powers.
The fall in crime comes as we give police the biggest boost to its numbers in history, with 1,231 new police already deployed across the state.
Our record $2 billion investment into Victoria Police funded 3,135 frontline police to be deployed by 2022, along with new technology, state-of-the-art equipment and facilities and stronger laws to crack down on crime.
This is in stark contrast to the Liberals who cut $100 million from Victoria Police, did not fund a single new police officer and sacked 350 Victoria Police staff – which coincided with a 13.5 per cent increase in crime during their term.
As noted by Minister for Police Lisa Neville
"Our unprecedented investment in Victoria Police is making a difference with the crime rate continuing to fall – quarter on quarter – as more frontline police hit the streets."
"There’s still more work to do – we want to drive the crime rate down as low as possible."
"We back Victoria Police and we will continue to give them the resources, technology and the equipment they need to respond to and crack down on crime."
