Crime stats: Family violence keeps growing as police hail ‘amazing’ burglary number

Victoria’s 1.7 per cent increase in crime offences is being described as “stable”.

There were 512,594 offences committed in Victoria in 2018.

Family violence continues to be the major concern, making up nearly 20 per cent of all crime.

Police are called out to one domestic violence incident every seven minutes.

There’s also an increase in the breach of intervention orders.

Police say it’s an indication that they’re doing their job.

“This isn’t trying to put any spin on it, but the positive to take from that is we’re actually enforcing these things,” Deputy Commissioner regional operations Shane Patton told Neil Mitchell.

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There were 247 carjackings last year, and drug dealing and trafficking also increased by 9.5 per cent.

Bail breaches jumped by 5.8 per cent.

In more positive news, the rate of aggravated burglaries (down seven per cent) and home invasions (down 27 per cent) decreased.

Mr Patton hailed the drop in residential burglaries — there were about 36,000 last year compared with about 80,000 in 2001 — as “quite an amazing outcome”.

Police Minister Lisa Neville is describing the figures as “stable”.