Crime in Melbourne

Crime has been prevalent in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia ever since the Victorian gold rush. Today, although crime is still widespread, Melbourne is commonly considered a reasonably safe city.

Crime statistics

Victorian police statistics for 2010 stated that the total number of reported crimes in Melbourne's CBD dropped by 17 per cent in the 12 months to January 2011. Police statistics stated there were 2921 recorded assaults per 100,000 people in the city in 2010, which represented an increase in assaults of 3.7 per cent.

These figures have been disputed, with supplementary crime data indicating that 2720 people were attacked in Melbourne's CBD in 2010, 199 more than in 2009, representing an increase of 8 per cent. When family violence was excluded from these results, it represented a 5.0 per cent increase in assaults upon 2009 figures. Deputy Victorian police commissioner Sir Ken Jones said that an increase in city bars had contributed to the rise in assaults, as had the impact of a booming economy, which encouraged more people into the CBD.

The 2010 police figures demonstrated that the overall crime figure across Victoria was down 5.3 per cent, with home burglaries falling 3.1 per cent to 26,974, assaults up 2.6 per cent to 35,563 and the number of motor vehicles stolen down seven per cent to 14,324.

List of specific crimes in Melbourne

Further information: List of specific crimes in Melbourne

See also

• Crime in Australia

External links

• Victoria Police crime statistics