Casey saw a 50 per cent increase in motor vehicle thefts in the twelve months to the end of March this year, while the number of alleged youth offenders dropped marginally.
The latest crime statistics from March 2024 to March 2025 have shown insights and trends in the crime activities in Casey.
The municipality recorded 28,484 offences in the year to March 2025, up 19 per cent from the previous year, the highest since 2017. About 50 per cent of the offences recorded had an investigation status of “Unsolved”.
Cranbourne topped the suburbs with the most offences (3956). The suburb has been leading since 2020.
Narre Warren seconded the crime chart with 3593 offences, followed by Berwick (3015), Clyde North (2435), and Hampton Park (1759).
About 40 per cent of the offences happened in a house (11519). Street/Lane/Footpath (3558), shopping complex (1128), driveway/carport (1124), and service station (1100) were also hotspots for frequent crimes.
The top five offence subgroups were stealing from a motor vehicle (4,012), breaching a family violence order (3374), other theft (2513), criminal damage (2064), and motor vehicle theft (1678).
Four out of five top subgroups have had the highest offence numbers since 2016.
The subcategory of motor vehicle theft had the biggest jump of 50 per cent from the previous year, from 1118 to 1678.
The subcategory of stealing from a motor vehicle had a jump of 30 per cent, from 3097 to 4012.
The subcategory of stealing from a retail store was also hit with a more than 35 per cent surge, from 1130 to 1548.
Overall, Casey’s fastest-growing crimes mirrored the statewide trend.
“The five fastest growing crimes are mostly property crimes, which is traditionally the case in difficult economic times,” the Victoria police release states.
The number of total alleged offender incidents has grown by about 17 per cent from 7301 to 8548. Youth offenders aged 10–17 made up about 13 per cent of all age groups.
The proportion of alleged youth offenders aged 10–17 fell by 3 per cent compared to the previous year.
According to Victoria Police, statewide, youth crime remains at the highest levels since electronic records commenced in 1993, with 25,275 incidents and a 17.9 per cent increase.
“Children only account for 13.1 per cent of all offenders processed; however, they are overrepresented in serious and violent crimes such as robberies (63.1 per cent), aggravated burglaries (46 per cent), and car theft (26.9 per cent),” the police release states.
“Victoria Police has made 3,300 arrests of Victoria’s worst youth offenders over the past year as part of Operation Trinity (home burglaries and car thefts) and Operation Alliance (youth gangs).”
Acting Deputy Commissioner Regional Operations David Clayton said there was no doubt that overall crime is higher than both the community and police would like.
“That’s why every police officer is working tirelessly to reduce crime and hold criminals accountable, as they did in these twelve months with a record 75,968 arrests,” he said.
“We know the community has strong concerns around young offenders breaking into homes to steal cars, which are then driven at high speeds on our roads.
“This offending has led to catastrophic consequences in the past year, with stolen cars involved in more than 760 crashes and six people losing their lives.
“Knife crime is another area of intense focus for Victoria Police, with officers removing an average of 44 blades from the hands of criminals every day this year.”
Leader of the Opposition Brad Battin said the data proved what Victorians already knew.
“This is evidence that what Labor is doing is not working. Community safety is clearly not their priority, and Victorians are suffering,” he said.
“We’re now in a position where people do not feel safe in the one place they should – their home.”
Shadow Minister for Police David Southwick said: “Today’s figures are deeply concerning, but they only scratch the surface. With Victoria Police critically underfunded and understaffed, countless crimes are going unreported and undetected.”
