Theft and family violence order breaches have driven much of the overall rise in crime in the Melton and Moorabool municipalities according to the latest Crime Statistic Agency data.
In Melton, there was a 17.8 per cent increase in total offences on the previous 12 months.
In the 12 months leading to June, there were 16,470 total offences recorded in the Melton municipality, up from 13,977 in the previous 12 months.
The top three criminal offences recorded in the municipality were theft other with 2295 offences recorded, breaches of a family violence intervention order with 2156 offences recorded, and theft from motor vehicles with 1876 offences recorded.
The top location for offences recorded was the house, with 6416 of recorded offences, followed by streets, lanes, and footpaths – with 2282 offences recorded at these locations.
The Melton township was where the most offences occurred, with 2354.
In Moorabool, criminal offences increased by 19.3 per cent in the 12 months to June, jumping from 2591 to 3090 offences.
More than a third of offences were recorded in Bacchus Marsh with 1186 offences.
Darley and Maddingley were second and third for offence locations.
According to Victoria Police, across the state, there were 638,640 criminal offences recorded in Victoria in the twelve months to June – an increase of 86,587 offences or 15.7 per cent.
The top three fastest growing offences state-wide in order are theft from a motor vehicle, motor vehicle theft, and family violence order breaches.
Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner of Regional Operations Bob Hill said that as a society “we simply cannot allow the level of crime we are seeing to become normalised and accepted”.
“Every Victorian deserves to feel safe in their home, within the community and on the roads,” he said.
“Victoria Police is tackling these issues head on. Our members are doing exceptional work to resolve these crimes. But it must be said – the number of arrests we are seeing reflects an unacceptable level of offending,”
“We will continue to make arrests and hold offenders to account, but we need to prevent and deter crime to reduce offending so that there are fewer victims in Victoria.”
