Media Release: Latest crime statistics show a continued decrease in recorded property and deception criminal incidents and offences

 

The recorded criminal incident rate was 6,172.4 per 100,000 population, down 10.8% from the previous year. A criminal incident can have one or more offences. The recorded offence rate was 8,186.2 per 100,000 population, down 9.9% from the previous year.

 

There were 380,066 criminal incidents recorded by Victoria Police in the year to December 2017, down by 9.6% compared to the same period last year. This decrease is attributed to incidents with a property and deception principal offence (including arson, burglary and theft), which decreased 13.8% and comprised 61.6% of all recorded criminal incidents in Victoria in the last 12 months.

 

Recorded offences showed an 8.6% decrease compared to the same period last year, with a total of 504,070 offences recorded by Victoria Police.

 

Alleged offender incidents increased by 1.0% to 174,443 offender incidents in the year to December 2017, but population growth was greater making the Victorian offender rate of 2,833.0 per 100,000 population 0.4% lower than the previous year.

 

The victimisation rate decreased by 13.0% compared to the same period last year, making the rate 4,855.4 per 100,000 population in the year to December 2017.

 

Family related incidents decreased to 75,061, down by 4.5% compared to the same period last year.

 

Crime Statistics Agency Chief Statistician Catherine Andersson said that ‘in Victoria, rates for both recorded criminal incidents and offences decreased compared to the previous year, down 11% and 10% respectively.’

‘The decrease in recorded criminal incidents is driven largely by a reduction in incidents with a property and deception principal offence, down 14% in Victoria in the last 12 months’ Ms Andersson said.