By Tate Papworth
Criminal offences rose marginally in Brimbank for the year ending September 2019, but the municipality’s offence rate remains well above the state average.
There were 18,987 criminal offences recorded in Brimbank in the 12 months to September 2019, up 0.9 per cent on the previous year.
But the offence rate per 100,000 population for Brimbank was 9031, well above the Victorian average rate of 8024.
Of the total offences recorded, 40 per cent (7639) remain unsolved, while 9344 have resulted in arrest or summons.
St Albans has the highest rate of criminal offences with 3743, followed by Sunshine (3441), Taylors Lakes (1636), Deer Park (1477) and Sunshine West (1263).
Sunshine had a significant spike in offences recorded, with 561 more than for the same period in 2018. Family violence incidents across Brimbank rose by 6.6 per cent.
There were 2857 offences recorded, 2144 of which were against women.
“Other theft” offences had the biggest spike, up 2189 from 1781 in the previous year.
Stealing from a motor vehicle (1993), breach family violence order (1690), criminal damage (1233) and obtain benefit by deception (1025) rounded out the top five offence groups.
There was also a rise in assault and related offences, up to 1649 compared to 1581 for the previous year.
Stalking and harassment offences rose from 466 to 506, while robbery rose from 269 to 317.
Offences occurring at service stations rose sharply to 1201 from 770 in 2018, while houses remained the top location for criminal offences with 4233 occuring at a residential property.
There was a significant decline in drug offences, with drug use and possession offences falling from 1031 to 895.
There were also two fewer drug dealing and trafficking offences than in the previous 12 months.
There were also fewer homicides, with six recorded – the lowest number for the Brimbank area since 2012.
