Criminal offences across Brimbank have increased by 8.7 percent, according to new data released by the Crime Statistics Agency (CSA).
Brimbank recorded more than 1000 additional offences in the 12 months to December 2024, compared to the previous year, with a total of 18,524 crimes impacting the area.
Theft from a motor vehicle continues to dominate the list, followed by other theft — with 2600 and 1711 offences recorded respectively.
Other common crimes included family violence order breaches (1668), criminal damage (1318) and deception-related offences (937).
St Albans and Sunshine remain the main hot-spots for crime recording 3614 and 3553 offences respectively.
Sunshine North (1543), Sunshine West (1523), and Deer Park (1472) took out the subsequent spots on the list, with crime continuing to rise in each of those suburbs.
Across Brimbank, the top location for crime are houses with 5596 offences recorded compared to 5386 the year before.
Streets and footpaths are the second-most common locations for incidents to occur in the area, after numbers rose from 2696 to 2882 in the 12-month period.
Overall, the crime rate increase in Brimbank is lower than the state’s 15.7 percent, but despite that difference, the top criminal offence remains the same according to a spokesperson from Victoria Police.
“Theft from motor vehicles is the most commonly reported and detected crime across the state,” the spokesperson said.
“About a third of all thefts from cars relate to the theft of number plates, which is why we encourage the use of anti-theft screws.”
The spokesperson urged the community to work in partnership with police to deter opportunistic crimes.
“Local and specialised police units continue to patrol hotspots in Brimbank to detect and deter offences,” the spokesman said.
“There are also simple measures the community can take to prevent falling victim — always lock your car, remove valuables, never leave your car unattended while running, and where possible, park off the street.”
