The rate of family violence incidents in Bass Coast increased by 17.7 per cent in the last year.
The alarming statistic puts Bass Coast well above the state average, which recorded a rise of 6.7 per cent.
Overall, the number of criminal incidents in the region remains well below the state average, and the total number of incidents increased by 2.7 per cent in the last year.
Across the state, the biggest increases were seen in theft from a motor vehicle (up 11.9 per cent), drug possession (up 16.8 per cent) and breaches of family violence orders (up 9.7 per cent).
The rate of family violence incidents is the highest on record.
The number of public health and safety offences across Victoria rose by a staggering 4,719 per cent.
Crime Statistics Agency Chief Statistician Fiona Dowsley said “in the last six months there have been significant impacts from COVID-19 and the public health response” on the statistics. Over 6,000 offences were recorded for breaches of Chief Health Officer directions in the year ending 30 June 2020. Ms Dowsley said pandemic impacts “will carry through to future crime statistics and be the subject of further CSA analysis”.
Family Violence
In the year to June 2020, the incident rate per 100,000 population in Bass Coast jumped to 739 from 628 in 2019.
This is the highest level recorded since 2016.
According to the statistics, women in Bass Coast are almost three times more likely to be impacted by family incidents than men.
Women are disproportionately represented in the statistics, with 546 females recorded as the affected party, compared to 189 men.
The vast majority of women impacted are aged between 25 and 55 years. The highest number of incidents (32) occurred in the 45-54 years age bracket, closely followed by 35-44 years (31).
Samiro Douglas from the Change for Sam Board said she was not surprised by the figures for Bass Coast, but said it was too high. Change for Sam works with local agencies and community groups to tackle family violence in the area. A new Project Coordinator, Teea Stepto, had been appointed and will commence next week.
State-wide figures show the number of incidents recorded each month rose in December and January before dropping again in February.
From March to June, throughout the lockdowns, the figures remained fairly stable, ranging between 7053 and 7983.
However, experts say the pandemic lockdown has added a new dimension to family violence.
Some social services organisations are concerned the lockdown could make it harder for victims to report an incident, while others say covid-related threats are being used as a form of emotional and physical abuse.
During the March lockdown, Liz Thomas, CEO of social services organisation Wayss, which helps families in Melbourne’s south east told the ABC requests for the organisation’s services had increased from an average of 120 per week to 209.
No to Violence, Australia’s largest peak body for organisations that work directly with men who use violence, expressed concern at the increase in family incidents in Victoria which has hit a record high.
Crime snapshot
The rate of criminal incidents in Bass Coast rose 2.7 per cent compared to South Gippsland, which saw a jump of 13.5 per cent.
However, total number of incidents for South Gippsland (1289) remains lower than Bass Coast (1859).
The most likely location for crime in the area remains the home, with Wonthaggi, Cowes and Inverloch the top three locations for incidents, followed by North Wonthaggi and Cape Woolamai.
Breaches of family violence orders remains the highest offence group, followed by criminal damage, theft, residential burglary and stealing from a motor vehicle.
Bass Coast is also ahead of South Gippsland in the number of offences recorded (per 100,000 population), number of victim reports and family incidents.
Men accounted for the majority of alleged offender incidents – 769 compared to 187 women, with assaults and breaches of orders up from last year. There was a drop in the number of thefts and property damage.
The number of victim reports recorded in Bass Coast dropped by 7.1 per cent. The number of thefts and assaults were down on last year, but property damage, burglary/break-in and stalking/harassment rose.
A full breakdown of the Bass Coast crime statistics can be viewed at www.crimestatistics.vic.gov.au/crime-statistics/latest-crime-data-by-area