CRIMINAL incidents in the Southern Grampians rose by 2.5 per cent to 776 in the year ending December 31, 2022, compared to 757 for the year ending December 31, 2021.

Data released this week by the Crime Statistics Agency showed that specifically in Hamilton, there was an increase of 26 criminal incidents, bringing the total for 2022 to 626, compared to 600 for 2021.

Behind Hamilton, Coleraine recorded 44 criminal incidents, Dunkeld 15, Cavendish 14, and Penshurst 11.

Within the Southern Grampians, criminal damage topped the type of offending with 89 incidents, with breaching family violence order 79, breaching bail conditions 59, other theft 48, and family violence common assault 43.

The top location types for crime in the Southern Grampians in 2022 were 287 in the house, 97 in a street/lane/footpath, 29 in a court, 28 in a flat/unit/apartment, and 27 in other retail areas.

Encouragingly, there was a sharp decrease in the number of family violence incidents in the Southern Grampians in 2022 totalling 250, with an 8.1 per cent fall from 272 in 2021.

In a statement released on Thursday, Victoria Police said family violence related offending slightly increased across Victoria, with year-on-year figures (to December 31, 2022) increasing by 1.7 per cent (from December 31, 2021).

There was a marked increase in youth crime recorded right across the state year-on-year.

Unfortunately for the Southern Grampians, youth crime (those aged 10-17) rose from 47 incidents in 2021 to 62 in 2022 (up 24.2 per cent).

This is well above the increase recorded for Victoria with youths aged between 10 and 17 responsible for 18,119 alleged incidents in 2022, an increase of 18.2 per cent from 2021.

Shadow minister for Youth Justice, Brad Battin, said fresh thinking was needed to better support young offenders in Victoria.

“This concerning data once again proves Daniel Andrews and his tired government has no plan to tackle the true causes of youth crime or to get young Victorians in the system back on the right path,” he said.

“More of the same isn’t working.

“It is time for a fresh approach and new ideas to support young Victorians to be the best versions of themselves.”

Victoria Police said that pleasingly, overall crime across Victoria in 2022 remained well below pre-pandemic levels.