Tom Elliott has taken Police Minister Anthony Carbines to task after the release of the latest crime statistics in Victoria.

There were 638,000 criminal offences recorded in the twelve months to June this year, an increase of 15.7 per cent, with youth and knife crime in the spotlight.

And the 3AW Mornings host called out Carbines after hearing all of the latest statistics from 3AW police reporter Madelaine Burke.

Press PLAY to hear the latest crime statistics (and his strong comments on Anthony Carbines)

“He doesn’t care, and he doesn’t want to face hard questioning,” Elliott said.

“I never thought I’d say this about him, but I think he’s a coward.

“He’s a coward, there’s no other way to look at it.”

Images: Darrian Traynor/Getty, 3AW