By Ethan Benedicto
There were over 3276 offences recorded for stealing from a motor vehicle in the year ending in June 2024 in the City of Casey, the highest recorded since 2020’s 3251 figure, according to the most recent release by the Crime Statistics Agency.
The 31.6 per cent increase from 2023’s number of 2488 recorded offences is followed by the second highest category of the breach of a family violence order, which is sitting at 3097 offences, up 6 per cent from 2023’s 2914.
Overall, Casey has seen an 11.3 per cent increase in total offences recorded from 2023, where figures were at 22,299 but now sit at 24,808; at the rate of per 100,000 in population, that number sits at 6161 in 2024, an 8.3 per cent increase from 2023’s figure of 5686.
According to the CSA, the top suburbs where incidents occurred remain relatively consistent to 2023, save Cranbourne, which was previously second now replacing Narre Warren for first.
Berwick comes in third, with Hampton Park at fourth and Clyde North at fifth.
For the top three, Cranbourne recorded 3339 offences, Narre Warren recorded 3152, and Berwick recorded 2854; in comparison to the previous years, the figures were 2925, 2965, and 2330, respectively a 14.1, a 6.3 and 22.4 per cent increase.
Victoria Police’s acting deputy commissioner of regional operations, Chris Gilbert, said on 26 September that “the reality is behind every statistic is a victim of crime”.
“These people and their experiences are the reason our members doggedly pursue those who endanger the community.”
The top offence for the state, also recording the highest year-on-year increase is theft from a motor vehicle, with a state-wide total of 61,959, and according to VicPol remains the most common criminal offence.
Following the breach of family violence orders at second, the subgroup of other theft offences was third on the list, with 2170 recorded offences ending in June 2024, an 8 per cent increase from 2023’s 2008 figure; it has also been the highest since the 2355 figure in 2017, with the period of 2018 to 2023 having an average offence record of 1628.
Criminal damage, under property damage, is fourth, with a figure of 1773 offences, a slight increase from 2023’s 1764, ultimately remaining consistent with previous years.
Common assault is at the bottom of the list and is down to 1214 in 2024 compared to 2023’s 1217 recorded offences, which was the highest figure since 2021’s 1072 offences.
The most common location for criminal offences to occur in Casey remains in and at houses, with 10,530 recorded in the year ending June 2024, a 5 per cent increase from the previous year.
Deputy Commissioner Gilbert said that “we understand many in the community are anxious about the increasing prevalence of intruders entering homes.”
“Your home should be your castle, and this is why 70 additional frontline police, Dog Squad members, Highway Patrol officers, and the Public Order Response Team continue to swarm Melbourne’s suburbs every single night – specifically targeting burglars and car thieves as the Air Wing watches from above.”
After a rather drastic drop in number, retail as a whole placed second on the list with 3668 offences recorded.
To be precise, shopping complexes saw 956 offences recorded, which has seen a steady increase since 2021’s figure of 785, jumping to 853 in 2022 and 951 in 2023.
Service stations were next in the subgroup with 927 offences recorded, spiking 21.8 per cent from 2023’s numbers of 761.
However, as a whole, streets, lanes and footpaths are second on the list for the most common location of offences to occur, with figures sitting at 3264; it has seen a 20.2 per cent increase from the previous year’s number of 2715.
“This determination to hold criminals accountable has never been more evident, with Victoria Police making 68,579 arrests and laying 189,666 charges over the past year,” Deputy Commissioner Gilbert said.
“Victoria’s four fastest growing crimes are all related to opportunistic offending – theft from motor vehicle, retail theft, motor vehicle theft, and the theft of other items such as petrol.”
At a closer look, Cranbourne saw a total of 1754 offences committed under property and deception offences, with theft as a stark outlier with the figure of 1087, compared to the second highest of property damage at 257 offences.
Crimes against the person came as the overall second with a total of 611 offences; for this group’s specifics, assault and related offences sat at 329.
Justice procedures offences had 620 total recorded offences, with the breach of orders sitting at 515.
Narre Warren displayed similar trends, with property and deception offences sitting first in 1819 and theft, specifically, with a figure of 1280.
Likewise, crime against a person was also second, with a total of 560 incidents and 275 accounts of assault and related offences.
Berwick is on the same boat; 1630 under property and deception offences with theft at 1033; crime against the person with a figure of 549 and assault and related offences at 330.
Under the alleged offender incidents, the age group between 18 to 24 remains the highest at 1273, but only by a small margin to the next age group of 1255 with those aged 45 and above.
Coming in third is the age group of 30 to 34 years old, with alleged offenders with the figure of 1235, followed by the age group of 25 to 29 at 1169.
“Operation Trinity has made 1550 arrests over the last year – an average of more than four burglars and thieves arrested across metropolitan Melbourne every day,” Deputy Commissioner Gilbert said.
“Police continue to see far too many properties burgled and cars stolen due to unlocked doors and windows, so we urge the community to take simple measures such as checking your home and car is locked before heading to bed.”
