CRIME across the Southern Grampians decreased by 8.6 per cent in the year ending December 31, 2021, with the number of criminal incidents decreasing from 829 to 758, according to the Crime Statistics Agency.

The statistics released on Thursday revealed the criminal incident rate for the Southern Grampians Shire over the 12-month period was 4725.1 per 100,000 population, which was lower than the Victorian rate of 5232.4. 

Of the criminal incidents recorded, charges were laid on 58.2 per cent (441), while no charges were laid for 19.3 per cent (146), with the remaining 22.6 per cent (171) unsolved.

The number of criminal incidents in Hamilton continued to fall last year, with 600 incidents recorded in 2021, compared to 666 in 2020.

Despite the rate of incidents decreasing, Hamilton continued to have the highest number of incidents in the Southern Grampians, with Coleraine ranked second at 44 incidents (compared with 48 last year), followed by Penshurst with 24 incidents (compared with 15 last year), Cavendish with 8 incidents (compared to 3 last year), and Branxholme with 8 incidents (compared to 10 last year).

According to the data, the top five principal offence subgroups in the area were breach of a family violence order (79 incidents compared to 82 last year), criminal damage (78 incidents compared to 92 last year), other theft (55 incidents compared to 67 last year), breaching bail conditions (53 incidents compared to 44 last year), and stealing from a motor vehicle (39 incidents compared to 18 last year).

The statistics also revealed most crimes were occurring in the home (274 criminal incidents), followed by the street/lane/footpath (129), driveway/carport (44), front yard (22), and in court (20).

The data also revealed the number of family violence incidents recorded across the Southern Grampians had decreased by 6.8 per cent, with 272 incidents recorded in 2021, compared to 292 incidents in 2020.

The Southern Grampians also recorded a family incident rate of 1695.6 per 100,000 population, which was the second lowest recorded in the last five years, despite it still being considerably higher than the Victorian rate of 1364.7.

The main age groups for affected family members were 35-44 and 18-24, and were predominately female, while the main age groups for offenders (other parties) was 18-24, 25-34, and 35-44, and were predominately male.

Victoria Police deputy commissioner of regional operations, Rick Nugent said the COVID-19 lockdowns over the past two years had contributed to the overall decrease in criminal incidents across the state.

 “While the highly unique environment in Victoria last year clearly contributed to the overall decrease in crime, it was incredibly positive to see a reduction in serious offences which impact the community such as home burglaries,” he said.

“While it is likely that overall crime will increase as the community returns to normality, the early signs are relatively positive.

“To date, we have not seen a rapid return across all crime categories, with police intelligence indicating overall offending still remains below pre-pandemic levels.”

Mr Nugent said Victoria Police would continue to target all criminal incidents in every town across the state to ensure the safety of residents.

“Every member of Victoria Police is working tirelessly to keep the crime rate as low as possible – whether it’s the police officers deployed to your local shopping strip to stop crime from occurring, the police vehicle patrolling your neighbourhood to keep car thieves at bay, or the detectives investigating, arresting and prosecuting offenders, we are doing everything possible to keep you safe.”

Anyone with information about a crime is encouraged to contact the Hamilton Police Station on 5551 9100 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.