CRIME in the Swan Hill local government area has increased slightly compared to the previous year, with family violence the main culprit.
According to Crime Statistics Agency, Swan Hill’s crime rate was up 1.4 per cent for the year ending December 2024.
There were 1507 criminal incidents reported in that period, compared to 1486 the previous year.
Breaching family violence orders (up from 152 incidents to 196) and criminal damage (148 to 180) were the main drivers for Swan Hill’s crime increase, followed by other theft, common assault and steal from a retail store.
Family violence incidents in Swan Hill increased by 12.1 per cent for the year ending December 2024, with 693 incidents compared to 618 the previous year.
It was a better outlook in Gannawarra, where family violence incidents dropped by 13 per cent.
The top five locations were house (increased from 560 incidents to 593), street, flat/unit, other retail and court.
The top five towns were Swan Hill (up by 14 incidents on previous year), Robinvale (increased from 214 to 264), Nyah West, Lake Boga and Nyah. The later three all recorded drops in crime.
In Gannawarra, the crime rate dropped 15.9 per cent after a sharp 39.4 per cent increase the previous year.
Swan Hill police Acting Inspector Andrew Donovan said with escalating crime and personal safety concerns “front of mind” for most Victorians, police were being “recognised for their continued efforts” to combat these increasing issues and keep the community safe.
“Crime Statistics Agency confirmed what most Victorians expected – there has been an increase in crime,” he said.
“Statistics show a 15.7 per cent increase in criminal offences recorded in the state in 2024 (605,640 offences, up 82,237).
“Last year, Victoria Police made the most arrests since electronic records commenced in 1993, that is 26,519 people a total of 73,539 times. This equates to 201 arrests per day.
“By comparison, Victoria Police made 65,627 arrests in 2023 and 58,124 arrests a decade ago.”
According to the agency, the five fastest growing crimes in Victoria are theft from motor vehicle (up 18,929 offences), theft from a retail store (up 10,512 offences), theft (other) offences (up 10,138 offences) with petrol the most common item stolen in this category, motor vehicle theft (up 8,432 offences), and family violence order breaches (up 7,956 offences).
Insp Donovan said though he would prefer zero family violence within the community, he took “comfort” the community “have the confidence in their local police to report family violence, knowing that their report will be acted upon”.
He said one of the main drivers of crime in Gannawarra was theft from motor vehicles.
“Experience tells us that these are offences are generally opportunistic with people leave their vehicles unlocked,” Insp Donovan said.
“Overall, the crime statistics for the Swan Hill and Gannawarra areas are pleasing.
“These results are only achieved by police working in partnership with a number of agencies, and with our local community to drive and report crime.”
Victoria Police said it has been “very clear” that high levels child and youth offending recidivism is “completely unacceptable” and as a result, welcomed the government’s bail changes.
“Advice and recommendations were provided to government by Victoria Police ahead of this announcement, including the critical need for community safety to outweigh the rights of the individual committing repeat serious and violent crime when it comes to bail decisions,” a statement said.
“Victoria Police welcomes these changes, with a belief that stronger bail laws will significantly impact upon child and youth offending levels.”
Deputy Commissioner regional operations Bob Hill said the overall crime rates in Victoria are “totally unacceptable”.
“The sad reality is that more crime equates to more victims involving members of community, who in some cases, will be impacted for life,” he said.
“We completely understand the community concerns around young offenders breaking into homes, stealing cars, and putting other people at risk on our roads.
“Be assured that police are arresting the state’s worst young offenders again and again – youth gang members, child car thieves and underage burglars were arrested 3,400 times last year as part of Operation Alliance and Operation Trinity.
“As a society, we simply cannot tolerate this level of offending. The time has come for Victorians to feel safe in their homes again and for young offenders to be held accountable.”
Mr Hill said the scourge of family violence carried out behind closed doors has hit record levels that see police responding to an incident every five minutes.
“Highly difficult economic times are also having a significant impact on crime, with financial pressures a common cause for family violence, while more people are resorting to stealing from shops to feed and clothe themselves and their family,” he said.
“Technology is also playing a part in rising crime, with vehicle thefts sharply increasing as offenders use electronic devices to exploit vehicle security systems and steal cars.
“Victoria Police continues to engage vehicle manufacturers around this issue, while vehicle owners can protect themselves from falling victim by installing cheap and easy crime prevention measures.”
