There were 638,640 criminal offences recorded in Victoria in the 12 months to end of June 2025 – an increase of 86,587 offences or 15.7%, new data from the Crime Statistics Agency has shown.
The five fastest growing offences were mostly acquisitive crimes:
- Theft from motor vehicle (86,351 offences, +24,409 or 39.4%) clearly remains the fastest growing and most common crime in Victoria. Numberplates are the most common item stolen, accounting for almost 40% of all theft from motor vehicle offences (32,481 offences, +10,750 or 49.5%);
- Motor vehicle theft (33,018 offences, +9,786 or 42.1%) is at its highest level since 2002;
- Family violence order breaches (64,713 +9,252 or 16.7%) increased as Victoria experienced a record 106,427 family violence incidents (+7,617 or 7.7%);
- Theft from a retail store (41,667 offences, +9,004 or 27.6%) continues to persistently increase;
- Theft (other) offences was the fifth fastest growing crime (58,593 offences, +7,931 or 15.7%), with petrol the most common item stolen in this category (5,891, +1,188 or 25.3%).
Victoria Police say knife crime remains a key concern for the Victorian community and police following several recent incidents. The Crime Statistics Agency does not specifically record the number of knife related offences, but Victoria Police intelligence indicates that at the end of August, Police had seized almost 11,000 edged weapons in the previous year.
Offending by children also remains a significant concern. While children only account for 12.8% of all offenders processed, the data found they are overrepresented in serious and violent crimes such as robberies (62.2%), aggravated burglaries (47.7%), and car theft (26.4%).
Aggravated home burglaries remain unacceptably high (7,856, up from 6,454 or 21.7%). Car keys remain the most common item targeted during aggravated home burglaries.
“As a society, we simply cannot allow the level of crime we are seeing to become normalised and accepted – every Victorian deserves to feel safe in their home, within the community and on the roads,” said Deputy Commissioner Regional Operations, Bob Hill.
“Victoria Police is tackling these issues head on. Our members are doing exceptional work to resolve these crimes. But it must be said – the number of arrests we are seeing reflects an unacceptable level of offending.
“We will continue to make arrests and hold offenders to account, but we need to prevent and deter crime to reduce offending so that there are fewer victims in Victoria.
Organised crime is also a factor in a range of crime categories, including retail crime where the state has seen retail theft syndicates stealing goods worth up to $10 million dollars.
Police intelligence indicates an increase in technology facilitated car theft, with a conservative estimate suggesting at least one in five of all cars are being stolen by offenders using electronic key reprogramming or mimicking devices. While these devices are not illegal to own, Victoria Police has seized more than 800 in the past year from individuals arrested for stealing cars.
The statistics showed that Victoria Police had executed 77,500 arrests in the data reporting period.
Last year, Victoria Police arrested 8,635 family violence offenders 16,148 times.
“While our members are doing exceptional work to resolve these crimes, the number of arrests reflects an unacceptable level of offending. We will continue to make arrests and hold offenders to account, but we need to prevent and deter crime to reduce offending so that there are fewer victims in Victoria.”
“Victoria Police remains intent on dismantling organised crime groups – putting them behind bars and seizing their assets.”
Victoria Police said its dedicated operations continue to provide strong results, providing deterrence, reassurance and holding offenders to account:
- Taskforce Lunar has made 160 arrests since its inception in October 2024, focused on investigating and disrupting offending related to the illicit tobacco trade.
- As part of Operation Alliance, detectives are conducting bail compliance checks, search warrants, vehicle intercepts and patrols where youths hang out to disrupt knife violence and seize edged weapons.
- Victoria Police’s two major youth operations – Operation Alliance and Operation Trinity – have made over 3,300 arrests in the past year in connection to youth gang activity and underage burglars and car thieves. These operations are complemented by intelligence-informed patrols across the state to deter offending.
- Dedicated operations targeting retail theft in key hotspots across the state continue to hold offenders to account:
- In mid-August, a major investigation by the Box Hill Divisional Response Unit led to the arrest of 19 people allegedly involved in the systematic theft of more than $10 million of goods, including liquor from supermarkets.
- North West Metro Regional Crime Squad arrested members of a separate syndicate who stole $700,000 of items from a range of electronic stores. In addition to these larger investigations,
- A recent operation in Melbourne’s CBD has led to over 40 arrests, 110 charges, and more than $200,000 of stolen items being recovered.
- Victoria Police also continues to regularly run high visibility operations at shopping centres, including over school holidays, to prevent serious crime and ensure the community feels safe.
“Right now we are working on new approaches that will deter repeat offenders and help stop these crimes before they can occur. This includes a focus on how we can get more police out on the streets,” said Deputy Commissioner Hill.
“We will continue to work with Government and our partners on developing strategies and solutions for preventing and responding to crime in Victoria.
“And we will encourage the community to keep taking simple steps to help prevent crime, such as locking doors and considering anti-theft devices for vehicles.
“Victoria Police has set an ambitious target of reducing serious and violent crime by 5% each year. There is no doubt this will be a challenge, but it is a fight we are up for to ensure our community remains as safe as possible,” he said.
