Victimisation Reality: Survey Data
vs. Perception
Leanne Nisha Jathanna — s3941298
29/10/2025
1. Introduction
The current wave of viral social media clips suggests a rise in
random attacks happening around Melbourne that has shaped public
narrative. However, public perception can be misleading. This analysis
makes use of survey data collected over years to give a better
perspective on the seriousness of crime and Violence in Victoria.
2. Assault in Victoria compared to the country over time
3. Patterns of Different Crimes
Different crimes have different patterns thus one viral incident
can’t speak for all crimes.
4. Where does Victoria rank?
Victoria stands in the middle when compared to other states
5. Victims vs reports (Victoria)
Crimes are often not reported thus making police counts
unreliable.
6. Victoria at a glance (heatmap)
Darker tiles mark years with higher victimisation, lighter tiles mark
lower years.
7. Inference
- Use trends from data collected over years in surveys, not social
media clips, to estimate true population level risk.
- Police counts often differ from survey rates, highlighting the need
to close the gap between incidence and reporting.
- Focus resources based on data and needs over the years and avoid
reacting to short-term spikes.
8.Limitations
- Survey results are estimates with sampling error
- Survey definitions differ from police recorded crime
statistics.
- The survey does not explicitly identify random or unprovoked
attacks.
- Use charts as guides to patterns over time, not exact counts of all
incidents.