4519.0 - Recorded Crime - Offenders, 2017-18 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 15/03/2019   
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VICTORIA

Victorian data are understated for 2017–18 as data for / about offenders proceeded against via penalty notice were not available for the full reference period at the time of publication.

As a result, the 2017–18 total offender count for Victoria and data for selected principal offences are not comparable with data from previous years and other states and territories.

Data presented in this chapter is for selected principal offences only. For further information refer to the Explanatory Notes.


ACTS INTENDED TO CAUSE INJURY

The most common principal offence in Victoria in 2017–18 was Acts intended to cause injury with 17,406 offenders. This was a decrease of 319 offenders (or 2%) from 2016–17. (Table 6)

The offender rate also decreased from 325 to 312 offenders per 100,000 persons. (Table 6)

The majority (81%) of offenders proceeded against for Acts intended to cause injury were male.

  • The number of male offenders for this offence decreased by 2% from 2016–17 to 14,035 offenders in 2017–18.
  • In contrast, the number of female offenders increased by 1% over the same period to 3,378 offenders in 2017–18. (Table 8)


THEFT

There were 8,012 offenders in Victoria with a principal offence of Theft in 2017–18, a decrease of 374 offenders (or 5%) from 2016–17. More than half (57%) of these offenders were male. (Table 8)

About one in five (21%) offenders with a principal offence of Theft were aged between 10 and 17 years. (Tables 6 and 20)


POLICE PROCEEDINGS - COURT ACTIONS

In 2017–18, there were 80,150 police proceedings via court actions in Victoria. This was a decrease of 3% (or 2,712 proceedings) from the previous year and the first decrease in court actions since 2010–11. (Table 27)

The principal offences which contributed the most to the decrease in court action proceedings in Victoria were:
  • Theft with a decrease of 668 (or 4%) to 14,794 proceedings
  • Acts intended to cause injury with a decrease of 563 (or 3%) to 20,800 proceedings
  • Unlawful entry with intent with a decrease of 436 (or 10%) to 4,017 proceedings (Table 27)