CRIME OVER TIME

Victoria is the state in Australia with the 3rd highest crime rate and is showing signs of getting worse shown on the graph below.

While Victoria shows an upward trend, let’s reflect on the two major drops in this time period, 2017 and 2020. We can explore why the crime rate dropped in these years and consider replicating successful strategies for the future.

ANALYSIS OF MAJOR DROPS

Theft is consistently the highest committed crime in Victoria between 2014 and 2023, accounting for about a third of all crime each year.

Subdivision Changes (2016-2017)

In 2017, the year we saw a large drop in crime, theft was the biggest dropper, dropping nearly 20% and is by far the crime that contributed most do the crime dropping this year compared to 2016.

Seen in the Sentencing Snapshot for Victoria in this time period, it shows that there were more thefts being caught each year and also in saying this the imprisonment time jumped up a whole year in 2016 leading up to 2017. This, in return, created a higher scare factor towards theft as more people were being put away, and on top of that, they were being put behind bars for longer. While the scare factor worked in 2017 what about 2020?

Subdivision Changes (2020-2021)

In 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, miscellaneous offences experienced the most significant decline, attributed to lockdown measures limiting opportunities for casual illegal activities. The overall drop in crime was across the board showing that keeping people on strict protocols can work and that the majority of people do listen to laws and rules put in place to protect them. While keeping people on strict protocols is not practical in the real world, the fact that when put into dire situations, the majority of people will listen to the police which allows for a chance to decline our crime rate.

The overall drop in crime during such periods demonstrates the effectiveness of strict protocols in discouraging criminal behavior. By clearly communicating the consequences of crime, particularly theft, law enforcement can deter individuals from engaging in illegal activities. The data from 2020 emphasizes that the majority of Victorians adhere to laws and regulations when faced with dire circumstances, providing an opportunity to decrease crime rates and the 2017 data emphasizes the fear of those that are caught is a likely crime stopper.

CRIME DATA

• Crime Statistics Agency Victoria, S. G. of V. (n.d.). Latest Victorian crime data

SENTENCING DATA

• Sentencing Snapshot 227: Sentencing Trends for Theft in the Higher Courts of Victoria 2013-14 to 2017-18 | Sentencing Council. (n.d.). Sentencing Council

STATE CRIME RATES

• With 55,000 cars stolen across Australia last financial year, ABS figures reveal household crimes are rising in Qld and NT. (2024, March 20). ABC News ```