Domestic violence drives Vic crime rate higher

The Age, 28/08/2013  Nino Bucci


Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Ken Lay. Photo: Penny Stephens Family violence continues to drive the state crime rate, with the second consecutive increase in annual offending attributed to a police crackdown on trouble in the home.

Chief Commissioner Ken Lay said more than a third of all crimes against the person committed in the 2012-13 financial year related to family violence. The number of family violence offences has increased by 21.6 per cent in the past year.

The annual crime statistics also revealed a 12 per cent increase in drug offences and an 8 per cent leap in assaults.

The overall crime rate increased by 1.6 per cent, measured as a rate per 100,000 of the population, while crime against property decreased by 5.3 per cent.

The crime rate in relation to the population has fallen 12 per cent since 2003-04.

"We don't think we've seen the extent that this horrible crime is having on our community," Mr Lay said.

"While we know changes to the way police respond to and record family violence incidents, as well as greater community confidence to report these matters, is pushing up these figures, it's alarming that such a high volume of crime is being committed in the home and that people are at risk in their own homes."

He said that in the past 10 years, family violence related crime against the person had increased by nearly 400 per cent, mainly due to increase an in assaults.

Police attended almost 61,000 family violence incidents, about 49,000 which resulted in a person being charged.

About 5000 of the family violence offences related to justice offences, which include breaching court orders.

When the quarterly crime statistics were released in May, Deputy Commissioner Lucinda Nolan said that the crime against the person rate, excluding family violence, was similar to that of 10 years ago. Those figures revealed that the rate of crime against the person had increased to above 1000 per 100,000 people for the first time in 10 years.

Mr Lay said the fact the total number of offences had increased by 13,000, and the rate of family violence offending had increased by about 20,000, illustrated the extent of the problem.

He wore a white ribbon, used to signify the stand against violence towards women, on the left of his name badge during his press conference. Fairfax Media reported in April that Mr Lay predicted family violence incidents would increase by about 25 per cent to above 60,000 in 2012-13.

"It's insidious. It reaches across all of our data, and we've still got a way to go," Mr Lay said.

To read the full article by The Age, click here.