GUN offences in the Southern Grampians Shire have climbed more than five times in the twelve months to the end of June, jumping from 24.4 per 100,000 in 2022 to 140.9 in 2023.

The new data from Crime Statistics Victoria has revealed a dramatic and exponential rise in gun offences across the state with one local government area increasing more than 1000 per cent since Firearm Prohibition Orders (FPO) were introduced in 2018.