SWAN Hill recorded a small increase in criminal incidents last year, according to the Crime Statistics Agency’s 2023 report.
A 1 per cent increase in total criminal incidents across the municipality headlines the statistics, which showed Swan Hill experienced a jump in incidents from 1482 to 1497 in 2023.
Last year was the first time since 2019 that Swan Hill’s total criminal incidents grew from the previous year, but the trend matched the criminal incident rate across the state.
A 7.1 per cent increase in Swan Hill offences recorded, from 2074 two years ago to 2222 last year, compared to the statewide increase of 5.6 per cent.
Swan Hill’s criminal incident rate remains well above the state level, at 7079.9 per 100,000 people, compared to the state’s rate of 5672.7.
Swan Hill police Acting Senior Sergeant Matthew Wade said there were “two ways you can look at these statistics”.
“Yes, we’ve seen an increase in criminal incidents, as far as the statistics are concerned,” he said.
“But it could also mean that our local residents have more trust in the police to report those incidents and allow us to take action.
“Although we never want to see the crime go up, we want to make sure that everything is reported so that we can ensure we are making the community safer.”
Breaking down the figures, 1006 of the incidents occurred within Swan Hill, while Robinvale had 218 incidents last year, Nyah West 43, Lake Boga 42 and Nyah 24.
Sen-Sgt Wade said that local police would continue to ensure these areas were patrolled, as they dealt with staffing shortages.
“Staffing is always an issue, no matter what business you’re in at the moment,” he said.
“But we are making sure that everycommunity is looked after. We haveRobinvale police who are out therepatrolling that area.
“We also have task units who floatout to Nyah and Nyah West and LakeBoga; we do try the best we can, sothat before we are even called, we are performing routine patrols.”
Of Swan Hill’s almost 1500 criminal incidents, 563 occurred in a home, while the town’s streets and supermarkets were growing locations for crimes to be committed.
Supermarkets were the principal location for 56 incidents, an 11- incident increase from 2022, and crimes occurring on public streets and footpaths increased by one to 199.
Sen-Sgt Wade said it was “unfortunate to see” the small rise in incidents occurring in public spaces. “All of our community have to go out to the shops,” he said.
“Everyone wants to be able to feel safe to walk down the street with their kids.
“We really want to have that visible presence around those areas, and hopefully we can stamp out any antisocial behaviour.”
Charges were laid in less than half of the criminal incidents, with 47.6 per cent of incidents leading to charges, while 25.4 per cent of incidents remain unsolved.
A total of 994 offender incidents occurred across Swan Hill in 2023, with male offenders responsible for 702.
Breaching of orders made up two of the five most common offence subgroups. Breach family violence order was the most common with 151 offences while 110 incidents were breaches of bail conditions.
Criminal damage increased from 147 to 148 incidents, while family violence common assaults increased from 85 to 89 incidents.
A 6.2 per cent increase in total family incidents occurred in Swan Hill last year, from 582 in 2022 to 618 in 2023.
Sexual crimes were also on the rise in Swan Hill, with 64 sexual offences in 2023 compared to 61 in 2022.
Sen-Sgt Wade said there wasn’t a quick fix for the issue, but starting the conversation was key.
“I don’t think there is a quick solution for something like family violence,” he said.
“Education is a major part of everything we are putting in place to try and curb that trend.
“It’s important for us that all instances of family violence are brought to the police, so that we can make sure that our most vulnerable people are being looked after in our community.
“The more that this gets reported, the more of an influence we can have in making sure that we stop it before it gets even worse.”
Swan Hill’s over-45s were the region’s top offenders, with 185 of offenders coming from the age bracket. There
were 173 offenders aged between 30 and 34, and 158 offenders aged between 18 and 24.
Sen-Sgt Wade said young people in our community were usually taught right from wrong.
“Being the small community that we are, I think we are able to provide a lot of education at our local schools,” he said.
“We have a brilliant proactive team here at the station that put a lot of work in.
“The community have a lot to thank for that as well, these people are members of our football clubs, of our church groups and everything like that.
“They’re doing a fantastic job of outlining to our youth the right way to behave.
