This week on BUSTED we talk about the surge in crime in Victoria, what’s driving this and discuss why Victoria seems to be the nation’s crime ‘hot spot’.

The latest Victorian crime stats revealed that Victoria recorded its largest yearly spike in crime rates. This is despite a curfew being in place for public health reasons prohibiting people from leaving their homes between 8pm – 5am.

The unenviable statistics show that criminal incidents have increased by 5.6 percent from over 21,000 to over 400,000 incidents – the highest since records commenced. The significant increase in crime was off the back of spikes in drug possession offences and car thefts, suggesting that more needs to be done to curb crime in Victoria.

Victoria’s Deputy Police Commissioner even expressed his dismay at this significant increase, especially considering much of metropolitan Melbourne had been in a forced lockdown for most of the year. What this shows is that even when you might think crime rates should be falling, criminals have continued to steal from innocent people, sell illegal material and participate in illegal activities through COVID-19 lockdowns.

Of significant concern is the increase in gang related activity – with new Operation Alliance launched aimed at preventing, disrupting and dismantling gangs.

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