Warrnambool's victim of crime rate higher than state average

Crime Statistics Agency data released last week revealed the victimisation rate decreased by 3.3 per cent in Victoria in the past year.

Calculated per 100,000 population, the victimisation rate refers to the number of persons who were offended against.

And while it was the state's lowest level in history, two south-west local government areas weren't so lucky.

In Warrnambool, the rate of victims increased by 4.4 per cent in the year to December 2021, and 10.6 per cent in Glenelg.

The rest of the region saw victimisation drop between .4 per cent and 16 percent.

The most common offences committed against the person in the south-west were theft, assault, burglary, property damage, breaches of intervention orders and sexual offences.

Family incidents spiked 2.4 per cent in Warrnambool in the 12-month period, with majority of incidents involving female victims aged between 24 and 34.

Fortunately, family incidents dropped between four and seven per cent in the remaining five local government areas.

Sexual offences jumped 22 per cent across the whole region, with 204 offences recorded in all six local government areas in 2020 and 249 the following year.

Non-sexual assaults saw a similar increase, with 742 offences recorded in the 12-month period compared to 928 the following year.

Victoria Police western region division two Superintendent Martin Hardy said all criminal offending had a strong impact on "tight-knit" regional communities.

"When someone is assaulted or robbed it's often someone we know or know of, so it's close to home for many," he said.

But the superintendent said it wasn't surprising to see victim reports climb now that the community was emerging from the pandemic environment and people were out and about enjoying freedoms again.

"However, it's really encouraging that we are yet to see a rapid return to pre-pandemic levels," he said.

"The slow increase in victim reports is a direct result of the proactive police work being done in the community, particularly with those at risk of offending, to disrupt and deter potential criminal offending."

Superintendent Hardy said Victoria Police was committed to community safety and ensuring people felt safe.

"You will continue to see highly visible police activities to deter offending and swift action to hold offenders to account," he said.

"Appropriate referral and engagement with allied partners are also made to provide support, advice and ongoing assistance."

The superintendent encouraged the community to proactively work with police to report any suspicious behaviour.

"Particularly in more remote areas where we have seen burglaries, thefts of equipment - items that are vital for their work and income and theft of livestock," he said.

In good news, the south-west recorded a three per cent drop in the total number of criminal incidents, falling from 6770 to 6551.

The top five principal offences varied across all six local government areas, however common themes included breaches of family violence orders, criminal damage, stealing from motor vehicles and breaching bail conditions.

In Warrnambool, the number of recorded offences dropped to a six-year low - a figure Superintendent Hardy said was "incredibly positive".

He said an increase in the number of family violence order breached was attributed to targeted police work in the community to disrupt more serious family violence offending.

"Detectives and uniform officers are knocking on the doors of known family violence perpetrators every day, making it as difficult as possible for them to commit harmful offences," Superintendent Hardy said.

"If they are caught breaching an intervention order, police have no hesitation in holding them accountable and present them before the court."

IN OTHER NEWS:

Now just one tap with our new app: Digital subscribers now have the convenience of faster news, right at your fingertips with The Standard: