My WhatsApp group of 30 local school dads shares regular stories of attempted burglaries in my local area, as does the local community Facebook page.
Jacqui Felgate, Melbourne’s 3AW Radio host, posts daily videos via Instagram of the latest armed robberies and crimes in Melbourne.
A similar incident occurred last year when I awoke to discover a burglar attempting to force their way through my side gate before I scared them away. My modest car has also been broken into several times.
Indeed, the Greater Melbourne Area this year has experienced a surge in attempted home burglaries and carjackings by machete-wielding thugs.
As a result, resident groups in some wealthy suburbs began hiring private security to patrol the streets.
Recent data from the Crime Statistics Agency Victoria and the Bureau of Crime Statistics NSW highlighted the growing crime problem in Victoria.
Both states had similar crime statistics figures for burglary, car theft, theft from cars, and retail theft a decade ago. However, the number of crimes across these four categories in Victoria increased from 131,140 in 2015 to 176,729 in 2024.
By contrast, NSW’s number of such crimes had fallen from 122,107 to just 97,553 over the same period.
A senior Victorian police officer attributed the disparity to the state’s weak bail and sentencing laws.
“There’s no fear” among offenders of being caught.
“The simple risk over reward scenario shows the risk isn’t that great—it all comes down to consequences”, he said.
The stories are all too familiar. Teenagers perpetrate assaults, burglaries, or carjackings, only to be slapped on the wrist and sent back to commit further crimes.
Meanwhile, a record 14,797 knives, swords, daggers, and machetes were seized in 2024.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has wasted millions of dollars on machete bins costing $325,000 apiece.
On Monday, The AFR reported that hundreds of frontline staff at Woolworths and Coles are wearing body cameras in response to a sharp rise in retail crime and violence in Victoria.
The article states that Coles stores in Victoria have reported 40% more retail crime incidents than in NSW.
“Acts of violence against team members, some connected to theft, are increasing, both the number of incidents and the severity”, Woolworths director of stores Jeanette Fenske told the AFR.
Daniel Agostinelli, CEO of shoe retailer Accent Group, which operates over 900 stores under brands such as Hype DC and The Athlete’s Foot, warned on Friday that the recent spate of ugly incidents at Melbourne shopping malls was driving fearful customers away from the suburban centres that rely on their business.
Melbourne citizens should not be required to barricade themselves in their homes and sleep with one eye open.
Retail workers should not be required to wear body cameras to feel safe in their jobs.
If half as much effort was put into law enforcement as was spent on policing pandemic lockdowns and mask-wearing, Melbourne’s crime epidemic would be finished.
Law and order are critical state government responsibilities, and the Victorian Labor Government failed miserably.
