Crime in Melton and Moorabool is at the lowest level in a decade, new data reveals.
Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) data for the year to December 31, 2022, shows there were 12,040 offences recorded in Melton, down 0.6 per cent from 2021 when 12,109 offences were recorded.
In Moorabool, 2025 offences were recorded, down from 2120 in 2021.
Both municipalities recorded their lowest offence rate since CSA began recording crime data in 2013.
In the City of Melton, Melton recorded the highest number of offences (1909), followed by Caroline Springs (1256), Melton South (1241), Melton West (892) and Truganina (617).
Breaches of family violence orders were the top offence (1845), followed by other theft (1376), theft from a motor vehicle (992), criminal damage (954) and family violence common assault (567).
Recorded family violence incidents fell 1 per cent from 2956 offences in 2021 to 2927 offences in 2022.
In Moorabool, the highest number of offences were recorded in Bacchus March (696), followed by Darley (378), Maddingley (258), Ballan (150) and Leigh Creek (56).
The top offence was breach of family violence orders (321), followed by criminal damage (197), theft from a motor vehicle (163), other theft (155) and residential non-aggravated burglary (98).
Family violence offences rose by 2.4 per cent to 505 offences.
Victoria Police deputy commissioner of regional operations Rick Nugent Victoria Police would continue concentrating on family violence.
He said family violence investigation unit detectives focused on known family violence perpetrators and victims daily to detect offending and support those impacted.
Mr Nugent said the data did show some positive outcomes.
“It is very pleasing that overall crime is still almost 10 per cent below pre-pandemic levels,” he said.
“These trends align with our expectations based on the intelligence available, which indicates that crime has not dramatically ‘snapped back’ to pre-COVID levels.”
“Over the coming year, police will continue to focus on proactive prevention and enforcement to ensure that the community is not only safe, but also feels safe in their homes, in public and on the roads.”
