Crime Policy: What Eastern Victoria Needs to Know Before November 2026

Look, we need to have a yarn about what’s happening with crime across Victoria, especially here in Eastern Victoria. The numbers don’t lie, and neither should your local politicians when they’re chasing your vote.

The Reality Check: Where We’re Actually At

Victoria recorded 456,453 criminal incidents in the year ending December 2024, marking an 18.7% jump from the previous year. That’s not just a blip on the radar. The overall rate hit its highest point since 2016, and frankly, people are noticing.

Here in the eastern part of the state, we’ve got our own challenges. Latrobe sits at number two on the state’s crime rate per population list, with East Gippsland at 13th, Wellington at 20th, and Baw Baw at 35th. These aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet. They’re break ins happening to your neighbour, cars getting pinched from driveways, and blokes carrying knives they shouldn’t be.

What Types of Criminal Offenses Are We Talking About?

The big ticket items causing grief right now are theft related charges. Theft from motor vehicles topped the list with 75,731 incidents, and more than a third of these involved number plate theft. Criminals are nicking plates to commit more serious offending in stolen vehicles. Cheeky buggers.

Domestic violence remains a massive concern, with family incidents jumping 11.3% to reach 104,786 in the year ending December 2024. That’s one family violence callout every six minutes across the state. Behind every stat is a family in crisis, a kid watching something they shouldn’t have to, or a neighbour hearing something through the walls they can’t ignore.

The Political Pitch: Who’s Promising What

Labor’s Approach

The current mob in Spring Street has rolled out their ‘Adult Time for Violent Crime’ laws. This allows 14 year olds to be tried as adults for serious offending. They’re also cracking down on hate speech and antisemitism with new vilification provisions.

Now, whether you reckon that’s tough on crime or tough on kids depends on where you sit. The government points to record arrest numbers, but critics say they’re just locking kids into the justice system earlier.

Liberal and National Coalition

The coalition’s pushing coercive control criminalization through a Crimes Amendment Bill. They’ve also announced a $100 million Safer Communities Plan. The big ticket item here is Jack’s Law, which would give police powers for knife searches in public spaces.

Former opposition leader Brad Battin, a former police officer himself, committed to introducing legislation allowing random weapons searches at any time in all public locations. Whether that makes you feel safer or more watched over is probably a matter of personal philosophy.

The Greens Take

The Greens haven’t put forward specific state crime policies with much detail, though they generally advocate for justice reforms. They back gun reforms in related areas. Not much red meat on the bone for voters looking for concrete crime solutions.

One Nation’s Stance

One Nation emphasizes improving community safety through better management and supports tougher sentencing for criminal traffic violations and other offenses. The devil’s in the details, they haven’t fully fleshed out yet.

The Youth Question: Are Kids Really Running Wild?

This is where things get interesting and the headlines don’t always match the reality. Nationally, youth offending rates have dropped 28% over the past decade, sitting at 1,764 offenders per 100,000 people aged 10 to 17.

But here’s the kicker: while overall youth offender numbers are down, the number of unique child offenders actually decreased by 3%, but repeat offenders increased by 4.9%. Translation? Fewer kids are offending, but the ones who do are doing it more often. That’s a juvenile offense pattern that needs intervention, not just punishment.

The real concern is what causes youth crime in Australia. Experts point to housing instability, cost of living pressures, and lack of early intervention. Items stolen by young people often include groceries, fuel, cigarettes and alcohol, aligning with price hikes seen during the reporting period. When kids are nicking groceries, that tells you something about what’s happening at home.

What About Reckless Driving and Traffic Violations?

Victoria Police made 73,539 arrests in 2024, averaging 201 arrests per day. While not all of these relate to criminal traffic violations, reckless driving charges and related offenses remain priorities for enforcement.

The state’s also dealing with an epidemic of stolen vehicles being used in further crimes, creating a compounding problem of crimes against property and public safety risks from disorderly conduct on the roads.

Regional Reality: Eastern Victoria’s Specific Challenges

Our patch has unique issues. We’re not inner Melbourne. We’re spread out, which makes community policing harder. Response times are longer. Youth services are thinner on the ground.

In Latrobe specifically, family violence order breaches top the charts at 1,305 per 100,000 people, the highest in the state. The region also leads for bail breaches and family violence related common assault. These aren’t random criminal offenses. They’re patterns showing systemic issues.

Crime by Suburb Breakdown

If you want to check specific crime figures Victoria publishes, the Crime Statistics Agency provides an interactive map letting you drill down by suburb, postcode, or local government area. Worth a sticky beak if you’re wondering about crime types in your specific neighbourhood.

What Actually Works? The Evidence

Here’s where we get real about crime prevention through environmental design and actual solutions rather than just tough talk.

Victoria’s Youth Crime Prevention Program evaluation showed a 29% drop in offending incidence and a 24% reduction in severity of offending for participants. Investment in prevention programs, mental health support, and early intervention works. It’s not as sexy as announcing new laws, but it’s effective.

Community policing matters. Connection matters. Helping young blokes find work and purpose matters more than any single piece of legislation.

The Seven Major Crimes: What Victorians Search For

People often search for information about the seven major crimes. While different jurisdictions classify things differently, generally we’re talking about homicide and related offenses, assault and related violence, robbery, burglary and breaking and entering, theft and related crimes against property, fraud and deception, and drug trafficking.

Under the law in Victoria, these criminal offenses each carry different penalties, but they’re all considered serious enough to warrant significant police and judicial attention.

Which Suburb Has the Highest Crime Rate in Victoria?

Melbourne CBD takes the gong with 22,080.8 offenses per 100,000 residents. But that’s skewed by the transient population and commercial nature of the city centre. For residential areas, Latrobe’s position at number two is more concerning because it reflects actual communities dealing with persistent challenges.

What’s Missing: The Opportunities for Real Improvement

Here’s what I reckon none of the major parties are saying loudly enough:

We need more community policing, not just more laws. Eastern Victoria needs officers who know the communities they serve, not just drive through on patrol.

Mental health support needs proper integration with justice responses. Too many people cycle through courts and cells when they need treatment, not punishment.

Early intervention programs need proper funding, not just announcements. The Youth Crime Prevention Program works, but it needs expansion and consistent support.

Victims need better support services, especially for domestic violence. It’s all well and good to talk tough on crime gangs Australia wide, but if victims don’t feel safe reporting or following through with charges, the toughest laws mean bugger all.

Crime Online Resources

If you want to track crime levels in Australia or find specific crime figures Victoria releases, the Crime Statistics Agency publishes quarterly updates. The data’s all there, transparent and searchable. Makes it harder for politicians to spin yarns that don’t match reality.

The Bottom Line for Eastern Victoria Voters

Come November 2026, you’ll have choices to make. The question isn’t just who sounds toughest on crime. It’s who’s got actual plans that’ll work for communities like ours.

Do we want more kids in detention, or more programs that stop kids offending in the first place? Do we want longer sentences, or better support for victims? Do we want reactive policing or proactive community engagement?

These aren’t easy questions, and anyone offering simple answers is probably having you on.

What Eastern Victoria needs is honest conversation about what works, proper funding for prevention and intervention, support for victims, and accountability for repeat offenders. We need policies based on evidence, not just headlines.

The stats show crime’s up, particularly property related offending. But they also show prevention works when properly funded. They show most young offenders can be redirected before they become hardened criminals. They show community connection and opportunity matter more than harsh rhetoric.

Your job as a voter is to look past the slogans and ask the hard questions. What specific programs are you funding? How will you measure success? What’s your plan for prevention, not just punishment?

Because at the end of the day, we all want the same thing: safe communities where we can leave our doors unlocked, where kids can walk to school without drama, where families feel secure in their homes.

The path to getting there isn’t just about being tough. It’s about being smart, being fair, and being honest about what actually works.