General News
19 June, 2023
Crime stats show positive signs locally
Criminal incidents are at a 10-year low in the Central Gold-fields Shire, as the latest crime statistics reveal that breaches of family violence orders again topped the list for most common offending. Released last week, data from the Crime...
Criminal incidents are at a 10-year low in the Central Goldfields Shire, as the latest crime statistics reveal that breaches of family violence orders again topped the list for most common offending.
Released last week, data from the Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) for the year ending March 2023 shows there were 1128 offences recorded in the shire, a slight increase from the 1126 recorded in the previous year.
The number of offences in Carisbrook numbered 112, almost doubling from the 68 previously recorded, while Dunolly and Talbot also saw increases in offending.
Offending in Maryborough dropped from 830 to 820 this year, with the CSA data also indicating that while houses were the most common location for offending, this had also dropped slightly compared to the previous year.
The next most common location for offending in the shire, according to the CSA, is streets/lanes/ footpaths, flats and units, driveways and court.
There were 113 criminal damage offences recorded in the shire this year, up from 108, as well as 75 counts of sexual offending — increasing from 57.
Other offences include 61 counts of other theft, which rose from 59 in the previous year, as well as 54 offences relating to drug possession, an increase of one.
There were also 35 weapon and explosives offences recorded in the shire.
While the overall number of offences recorded in the shire increased slightly, there is a continuing trend of decreasing local offences, with this year seeing the lowest offence rate since 2014.
Similarly, criminal incidents — defined as a criminal event which can include multiple offences — dropped substantially by 4.6 percent to 782 incidents.
This marks the lowest in 10 years for the shire, with 808 incidents recorded in 2013.
In the neighbouring Hepburn Shire criminal offences increased from 545 in 2022 to 659 this year — a significant increase of 20.9 percent.
Creswick, Daylesford and Clunes were the top three towns for incidents, with houses the most common location.
Other theft, breaches of family violence orders, theft from motor vehicles and criminal damage were the most common offences for the shire.
In the Pyrenees Shire there were 400 offences recorded, a decrease of 7.6 percent from last year’s 433.
Offences in Beaufort, Avoca and Snake Valley all dropped while Landsborough saw a significant increase from six in 2022 to 42 this year.
The most common type of offending was breaches of family violence orders.
State-wide there were 496,589 criminal offences recorded in Victoria in the twelve months to March 2023, representing an increase of 26,424 offences or 5.6 percent from the previous year.