Victorian crime statistics show youth offenders over-represented in carjackings, home invasions

The majority or carjackings and home invasions in Victoria last year were carried out by offenders under the age of 18, according to the latest crime statistics.

Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) figures for 2025 show offences by minors rose by about 2 per cent for the 2025 calendar year.

Police arrested 1,223 children a combined 6,997 times, with the figures showing minors committed 57.6 per cent of carjackings in Victoria and 52.6 per cent of home invasions.

The CSA said youth gang members were responsible for a large number of the offences, with officers arresting an average of four youth gang members a day, resulting in 4,300 charges being laid.

Youth offenders also committed 47.8 per cent of aggravated burglaries and 62.4 per cent of robberies.

"With 230,213 different victims of crime we are seeing far too many innocent community members harmed," Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Bob Hill said.

Deputy Commissioner Hill said there was evidence organised crime groups were using youths as "minions" to steal vehicles.

"The aggravated burglaries that involve the theft of a motor car are predominantly being committed by child and youth offenders, not adult offenders," he said.

"We know for a fact that over the course of the last 12 months repeat offending continues to drive that crime."

He said some youth crime was being fuelled by social media.

"Some of the gangs that we see meeting up in shopping centres and train stations where they're in conflict (is) all driven by social media and who can outdo one another," he said.

The overall number of offences recorded in 2025 was up by 4.2 per cent on the previous year, with theft being the main driver of the increase.

Family violence arrests were at record levels and occurred at a rate of one every half hour, Victoria Police said.

Police seized a record 17,400 knives and machetes.

Government says crime remains 'unacceptably high'

Despite the rise in overall offences, Deputy Commissioner Hill said crime appeared to be "stabilising".

However, Victoria Police said the cost of living, recidivism and the use of technology in offending meant a major reduction in crime was "unlikely to be imminent".

Theft, including retail and motor vehicle theft, accounted for a third of criminal offending, a statement said.

"With the challenging financial environment, there are no indications these crimes, which heavily impact the overall crime rate, will reduce," the statement said.

The CSA figures showed more than 32,000 cars were stolen last year, the highest number since 2001.

The agency said the number of cars stolen had increased by 96.9 per cent over the past three years which had coincided with a surge in the use of key cloning technology.

Assistant Commissioner Hill said between 30 and 40 per cent of car thefts involved the technology.

"That shift continues to challenge Victoria Police and vehicle manufacturers," he said.

The Victorian government said the figures showed bail refusals and revocations were at a record high and remand decisions had increased by 70 per cent.

"There's more work to do to keep the community safe, but we can already see the tougher bail laws are working and offending by young males is now falling," Police Minister Anthony Carbines said.

The CSA also released yearly bail statistics for the first time, breaking down bail decisions by offence type.

Breaches of orders — particularly the breach of bail — were the most common offence type for bail applications, followed by assault and theft.

"The addition of offence information to the bail statistics is the next step in helping us better understand how bail or remand decisions are made," CSA chief statistician Fiona Dowsley said.

The data would help demonstrate "the impact of policy reform on an alleged offender's pathway through the criminal justice system and further offending", she said.

Call for more police officers on the beat

Victorian Opposition Leader Jess Wilson said the crime statistics reflected poorly on the government.

"Labor has created Victoria's crime crisis. Victorians have never felt less safe," she said.

"Under Labor police numbers are down and crime is up."

Police Association of Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt said the statistics showed Victoria Police needed more officers on the beat.

"The only aspect of crime in Victoria that shows a steady downward trajectory is the number of police in our communities fighting it," he said.

Assistant Commissioner Hill said the current staff shortfall in Victoria Police was being addressed through a recruitment drive.

"It is not contributing to increasing crime. We have 1,500 vacancies here in Victoria Police at the moment and we are certainly working to lift our recruitment," he said.

Assistant Commissioner Hill said officers were already conducting interviews in the field and later this year would start charging and bailing alleged offenders in the field, rather than at police stations.

"We'll see 53,000 policing hours returned yearly as a result of just one of those initiatives we're looking to deliver for the future," he said.

"The community is better served by police members being in the community rather than in a police station setting tending to administrative tasks."