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Aggravated home burglaries by children aged 10 to 14 skyrocketed in Victoria in the past year, surging by 86.7 per cent, but teenagers aged between 15 and 17 are committing this offence the most, according to the Crime Statistics Agency, which has released crime data for the year to March.
The data also revealed that dangerous driving offences have risen by 17 per cent, an alarming statistic given the high number of road fatalities in Victoria so far this year – 145 people have died on the state’s roads, 39 more than at the same time last year.
Victoria Police’s deputy commissioner fr regional operations Rick Nugent.Credit: Scott McNaughton
Analysis of the crime statistics found there was a 30 per cent increase in aggravated residential burglaries, which police say is predominantly driven by young offenders entering occupied but unlocked Victorian homes to take keys and steal cars.
This trend is reflected in the 17.9 per cent increase in car thefts, with police saying they recover 80 per cent of stolen cars.
Victoria Police’s deputy commissioner for regional operations Rick Nugent said officers were working with the air wing, dog squad and public order response team to prevent burglaries and car thefts.
“In some parts of Melbourne, up to 70 per cent of homes broken into are unlocked, so we also implore the community to take simple measures, such as locking all doors, windows, and gates to help foil opportunistic thieves,” he said.
Nugent said police had made more than 1500 arrests in the past year of people they believed were linked to youth gangs, laying more than 3400 charges against 448 alleged young offenders.
“In the past few years, we have reduced the number of serious and violent youth gang members on our watch list, with 137 less known youth gang members in Victoria than when Operation Alliance commenced in September 2020.”
Overall, there were 496,589 criminal offences recorded in Victoria in the year to March 2023, an increase of 26,424 offences or 5.6 per cent. When population growth is taken into account, police say, that figure drops to 3.5 per cent.
The overall rate of assaults also increased, with non-family violence common assaults recording the biggest rise of 14.9 per cent, with the incidents mostly linked to licensed premises.
Family violence assaults, and assaults against emergency service workers, dropped 3.6 per cent and 3.5 per cent respectively.
Crime Statistics Agency chief statistician Fiona Dowsley said the increases in recorded crimes, coincided with a return to pre-pandemic activities
“The volume increase in recorded offences is largely attributable to non-family violence related crime,” Dowsley said.
“While there has been an increase in recorded crime measures for the year ending 31 March, 2023, the figures remain below those recorded in 2019.”
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