THE crime rate in Frankston has increased significantly in the last year.
The increased crime rate defies a four-year trend of decreasing crime in the Frankston local government area.
Figures released last month by the Crime Statistics Agency reveal that the number of criminal incidents in the Frankston LGA climbed by more than 14 per cent in the period between March 2022 and March 2023 when compared to the same timeframe the year prior.
The criminal incident rate has decreased in Frankston each year since 2019. There were 9500 criminal incidents in Frankston between March 2022 and March 2023. The figure is still lower than the decade-high crime rate in Frankston, which was recorded in 2017.
The CSA statistics reveal that houses were the most common location of local criminal incidents. Breaching bail conditions was the most common criminal offence.
The number of family violence offences dropped by 5.7 per cent in Frankston compared to the year prior – a little more than 2500 family violence incidents were recorded in the Frankston municipality.
The criminal incident rate in Frankston remains higher than the statewide average. The 2023 increase reflects a statewide rise in crime in the last year. The criminal incident rate on the Mornington Peninsula increased by 9.4 per cent, and the Kingston LGA saw a whopping 17.8 per cent increase.
CSA chief statistician Fiona Dowsley said that the latest Victorian crime figures show that offence rates are closer to pre-pandemic levels. “The upward trends observed in recorded crime measures in the last 12 months coincide with a return to pre-pandemic related movements in the community. The volume increase in recorded offences is largely attributable to non-family violence related crime,” she said.
“While there has been an increase in recorded crime measures for the year ending 31 March 2023 the figures [statewide] remain below those recorded in 2019.”
Statewide in the year ending March 2023, the number of criminal incidents increased by 5.6 per cent.
To view the full statistics visit crimestatistics.vic.gov.au/crime-statistics/latest-crime-data-by-area