By JESSE GRAHAM
FAMILY violence, drug offences and road fatalities have all soared in the Yarra Ranges, though police say robberies and burglaries are sharply declining.
Victoria Police released crime statistics for the 2013-’14 financial year on Wednesday, 27 August, comparing crime rates with the year before.
Rates of family violence increased by 18 per cent, with 426 offences recorded in the last financial year, compared with 360 in 2012-’13.
Road fatalities rose from 3 to 12 between the two periods, while drug offences rose 13 per cent and theft from motor vehicles rose 17.1 per cent,
Crime rates increased by 13.5 per cent overall.
Yarra Ranges Inspector Matthew Anderson said thefts from motor vehicles were opportunistic, and could be easily avoided.
“Items of value are also still being left in vehicles visible to offenders,” Inspector Anderson said.
“Please be smart when it comes to your property and valuables – lock up and don’t tempt thieves.”
Chief Commissioner, Ken Lay, said that family violence rates increasing were the result of people having more confidence in coming forward to police.
He said that people were also coming forward with historical cases of sexual abuse in the aftermath of the Parliamentary Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and other Non-Government Organisations, resulting in a state-wide increase in family violence statistics.
“We’re really seeing a flow-on effect as victims of this horrendous crime feel more comfortable to report these matters to police, confident they will be investigated no matter how much time has passed,” he said.
Family violence rates have continually risen in each release of statistics by the police, with a 20 per cent increase marked in June’s statistic release.
Inspector Anderson said that robbery and burglary, which fell 6.3 per cent and 12.2 per cent, were key issues that police were working to prevent.
“Targeted patrols and investigations will continue to further encourage residents to lock their property at all times,” he said.
Inspector Anderson said that road policing would be a priority for Yarra Ranges police, and he reminded drivers to ensure they kept their vehicles roadworthy and obeyed speed limits.
Commissioner Lay said overall crime rates had risen consecutively in the last three years, and that police would be re-evaluating how to prevent and address crimes.
“While the traditional model of policing is serving us well in pushing down crime in areas such as robberies, burglaries and theft, we need to look at a new way to address emerging crime trends,” he said.
“It’s important Victoria Police becomes a flexible organisation, ready to dedicate specialist resources to emerging issues such as organised crime, our community’s battle with ice, cyber-crime, historical sex abuse and deceptions.”
For more information, visit www.police.vic.gov.au.
