New statistics released by the Crime Statistics Agency reveal that there were 456,381 offences recorded by police in 2014, up 4.3% compared to the same time last year. The 2014 crime rate was 7,808.6 offences per 100,000 people, an increase of 2.5%.
Other State wide figures
- Family related incidents continued to rise, up 8.2% to 68,134 in 2014.
- Offender incidents increased 5.5% from 152,911 in 2013 to 161,249 in 2014
- Victim reports made to police have decreased by 0.6% compared to the same period last year, making the victimisation rate 4,773.5 per 100,000 population.
Offence trends
Between 2013 and 2014, the major offence categories that showed a significant upward trend were:
- Sexual assault and related offences (up 9.5% from 9,806 to 10,738)
- Stalking, harassment and threatening behaviour (up 10.8% from 10,573 to 11,719)
- Dangerous or negligent acts endangering people (up 14.4% from 3,776 to 4,320)
- Breaches of orders (up 56.9% from 29,497 to 46,295)
- Regulatory driving offences (up 95.8% from 24 to 47)
- Miscellaneous offences - including cruelty to animals, environmental, public health and safety and dangerous substance offences (up 26% from 373 to 470)
The major offence categories that showed a significant downward trend were:
- Robbery (down 11.1% from 2,723 to 2,421)
All other offence categories were stable.
Local Government Area level figures
The five Local Government Areas with the highest offence rates were:
- Melbourne (26,246.9 offences per 100,000 estimated resident population, down 6.3%)
- Latrobe (15,721.5 offences per 100,000 estimated resident population, up 13%)
- Yarra (14,864.9 offences per 100,000 estimated resident population, up 11.2%)
- Horsham (12,050.6 offences per 100,000 estimated resident population, up 29.6%)
- Wangaratta (11,617.7 offences per 100,000 estimated resident population, up 29.9%)
For a detailed breakdown of the data, click to view the crime statistics quarterly release
For a breakdown of offences at the LGA level, click to access the CSA crime by location tool
For explanatory information and definitions for the latest release, see the explanatory notes and glossary