Ebike thefts soar in NSW as Victoria’s crime rate drops for first time in four years | Victoria
Victoria has recorded its first fall in the crime rate in four years and fewer young people are committing crimes, but an increase in theft is reversing the trend; It echoes concerns in New South Wales, where a sharp rise in e-bike theft has helped push theft rates even higher.
The Victorian Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) released data for the 12 months to March 2026 on Thursday; This data showed that there were 625,426 criminal offenses recorded in Victoria; a decrease of 1,524 or 0.2% from the previous 12 months.
The crime rate, which is effective in population growth, also decreased by 1.9% compared to the previous 12 months. This was the first drop in crime since 2022.
In the 12 months to March 2026, there were 22,654 allegations of crime involving young people; This represents a 6% decrease compared to the previous year. However, youth remain disproportionately represented in several serious and violent crime categories, accounting for 60% of robberies, 55% of carjackings, 49% of home invasions, and 48% of aggravated burglaries.
“For the first time since 2022, incidents alleged to be linked to young offenders have decreased,” said CSA chief statistician Fiona Dowsley.
Meanwhile, crime against adults rose by 10%, which Dowsley attributed to an increase in bail breaches, shoplifting from retail stores and breaches of domestic violence orders.
Armed robberies, carjackings and robberies fell during the reporting period, but police said car thefts were “very high and more than double what they were four years ago.” They said 31,851 cars were stolen last year; This number is the highest since 2001-02.
Theft also increased by 6.3%. More than half of the 44,000 incidents involved theft from a retail store; This was an increase of 11.7% compared to the same period in the previous year. Police have previously attributed the increase in thefts to cost of living pressures.
Department commissioner Bob Hill said: “While it is pleasing to see overall crime decreasing slightly, the reality is that overall crime in Victoria is still much higher than both the police and the community would like.” he said.
This was echoed by police minister Anthony Carbines, who said crime was still “unacceptably high” but credited the government’s controversial “adult time for violent crime” and tougher bail laws for the reduction in overall crime.
“There is always more work to be done and we will never be satisfied with reducing crime and holding criminals to account,” he told reporters.
“But across the board, crime is down, crime is down, and thanks to our tough new laws, more people are going to jail rather than bail.”
Meanwhile, data released by the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research in New South Wales on Thursday showed crime remained mostly stable in the state over the past two years, except for burglary and theft offences.
The data showed shoplifting increased by 9.1% in the two years to March 2026, while other theft crimes increased by 3.1%.
The increase in shoplifting was driven by a 17% increase in clothing and shoe theft and a 13% increase in alcohol theft, while the increase in shoplifting was driven by a 27% increase in e-bike theft, which accounted for more than a third of the 2,080 incidents.
Meanwhile, the number of adults appearing in court in NSW has increased by 10% in the two years to March 2026; one-third of the growth was related to domestic violence.
The data found that the overall increase in charges was due to greater police enforcement rather than an increase in crimes.
This includes domestic violence; Data showing domestic violence assault charges have increased by 13% in two years, although the number of recorded incidents has remained constant.
In recent months, the state’s prison system has broken numerous records even as crime remains relatively stable.
NSW’s total prison population reached a record high of more than 14,000 in March. The latest data from Bocsar also shows a record number of Indigenous adults in custody and a record number of DV offenders, who now make up almost a third of the prison population. Last year saw a record number of Indigenous deaths in custody.
