VICTORIA

HOMICIDE AND RELATED OFFENCES

There were 115 victims of Homicide and related offences recorded in Victoria during 2016, an increase of 15 victims from the previous year. Around two-thirds (67%) of Homicide victims were male (77 victims) and 35 victims were female.

Four out of five (79%) male victims of Homicide were aged between 20 and 54 years (61 victims). The majority of female victims (69%) were aged 35 years and over (24 victims). (Tables 6 & 7)

Over half (55%) of all Homicides recorded in Victoria in 2016 were Murders (63 victims), the majority of which occurred at a residential location (59% or 37 victims).

The majority (71%) of Murder victims knew the offender(s) (45 victims). More than half of these (25 victims) were alleged to have been murdered by a family member. (Table 11)


SEXUAL ASSAULT

The number of victims of Sexual assault in Victoria rose for the third consecutive year, from 4,719 victims in 2015 to 5,381 victims in 2016 (14%), This represented an increase of 9 victims of Sexual assault per 100,000 persons (from 80 victims per 100,000 persons in 2015, to 89 victims per 100,000 persons in 2016). This was the largest increase in the number of Sexual assault victims recorded in Victoria since the commencement of the time series in 2010. (Table 6)

In 2016, four out of five victims (82%) of Sexual assault were female (4,428 victims). A quarter of these were aged between 15 and 19 years (1,108 female victims). Male victims of Sexual assault were most likely to have been aged between 10 and 14 years (18% or 161 victims). (Table 8)

The majority (71%) of Sexual assault victims knew their offender (3,832 victims), over half (57%) of these offenders were identified as a non-family member (2,201 victims). (Table 11)

Victims of Sexual assault aged between 0 and 9 years of age were three times more likely to have experienced victimisation by a family member (203 victims), compared to a non-family member (70 victims). (Table 15)



ROBBERY

The number of Robbery victims increased by 22% in Victoria between 2015 and 2016, up from 2,442 to 2,983 victims to reach their highest levels since 2011. In almost two-thirds (64%) of Robberies the offender(s) was armed (1,922 victims). This was the highest number of armed robberies in the state since the commencement of the time series in 2010. (Tables 6 & 9)


PROPERTY CRIME

The number of victims of all property offences, within scope of the collection, rose in Victoria between 2015 and 2016 to reach their highest levels since the beginning of the time series in 2010. The largest increase (25%) occurred amongst victims of Motor vehicle theft, which rose for the third consecutive year to 19,026 victims. (Table 6)



Three-quarters of motor vehicles were either stolen from a residential location (43%) or a street or footpath (32%) in 2016. (Table 8)

The number of victims of Other theft offences rose by 16% in 2016 (18,898 victims), from 121,260 victims in 2015 to 140,158 victims. (Table 6)

In 2016, there were 52,692 victims of Unlawful entry with intent recorded in Victoria. This represents a 10% increase in the number of victims of these offences since 2015 (up 4,839 victims). Just over two-thirds (67%) of these occurred at a residential location (35,495 victims). (Tables 6 & 8)