TOTAL criminal offences rates rose in Macedon Ranges and Whittlesea local government areas in 2025 as compared to the previous year, new data released by Victoria Police last Thursday shows.
In Mitchell Shire, recorded crimes fell down by 0.8 per cent in 2025 – 3692 – as compared to the previous year – 3720 (per 100,000 people).
But some areas recorded red marks, with Kilmore’s criminal tally rising to 479, compared with 408 the previous year. Beveridge has the worst tally, rising to 524 from 384.
Street offences recorded tally rose to 537 from 484. Family order breaches in Wallan rose to 420 from 416.
Macedon Ranges had a 3.4 per cent rise in criminal incidents – 1958 in 2025 compared to 1894 the previous year. The worst tally was in Kyneton, rising to 536 from 483.
In the Whittlesea LGA, total criminal incidents had a 7.7 per cent increase – 13,890 in 2025 compared with 12,892 in 2024. Epping tally rose to 3353 from 3029, Lalor 1174 from 1103, and Mernda 1142 from 1024. Thefts from motor vehicles in Epping rose to 2453 from 1891.
Mitchell Local Area Commander Acting Inspector Darron Huffer said even with the rapid population growth across southern Mitchell, it is reassuring to see that the focused police response – bolstered by Wallan being a 24-hour station with increased patrol numbers – is yielding tangible, positive results for the community.
“The data shows a pleasing 5 per cent drop in crimes against the person and a 28 per cent decrease in residential and aggravated burglaries,” Insp Huffer said.
“However, while these reductions are encouraging, they also remind us that staying safe is a partnership. Police are rightly urging homeowners to remain vigilant by locking doors and windows and advising car owners to consider preventive measures like on-board diagnostic port lock and off-street parking to deter increasingly tech-savvy thieves.
“Perhaps most significantly, we are also seeing a vital shift in how we address family violence. While breaches are a growing concern statewide due to the misuse of technology and social media, the dedicated work of specialist family violence detectives is building the trust and confidence for victims to come forward and report. Seeing these dedicated resources assigned to support affected family members is a major win for our community’s wellbeing.”
In Victoria, there were 630,592 criminal offences recorded last year – an increase of 25,250 or 4.2 per cent.
The crime rate, which factors in population growth, rose by 2.4 per cent (8885.5 offences per 100,000 people).
Car theft has reached its highest levels in a calendar year since 2001, with more than 32,000 cars stolen last year. Over the past three years, the number of cars being stolen has risen by 96.9 per cent.
Retail theft offences last year were 41,547 – a rise of 2393 offences.
Aggravated home burglaries were down for the first time since 2020, falling by 4.1 per cent, 7151 offences, down from 7458.
Police said while this is positive, aggravated burglaries remain at the second highest levels in history, with significant ongoing police work required to achieve sustainable reductions in home break-ins.
Overall offences committed by child offenders increased (23,690 offender incidents, up 2.3 per cent).
Deputy Commissioner Regional Operations Bob Hill said while it’s heartening that crime appears to be stabilising, it will take time before offending reduces to levels more traditionally seen in Victoria.
“With 230,213 different victims of crime, we are seeing far too many innocent community members harmed.
“This is simply not acceptable as we want Victorians to not only be safe but feel safe in their community. Our officers are remarkably efficient at holding prolific and dangerous offenders accountable, with thousands of youth gang arrests, record knife seizures, and family violence offenders locked up every half hour.”
Minister for Police Anthony Carbines said there is more work to do to keep the community safe, but “we can already see the tougher bail laws are working and offending by young males is now falling.”
“Crime is still unacceptably high and there are too many victims in the community. That’s why we delivered ‘Adult Time’, toughened bail laws, and backed Victoria Police with more powers.”
Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell said: “Labor has abandoned residents in Epping, Mernda, and Whittlesea by closing local police stations on nights and weekends, while crime keeps going up.”