By Bonny Burrows
Youth crime in Cardinia is down 27.7 per cent since 2014, the latest figures from the Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) reveal.
According to the data, released in July, there were 78 first-time young offenders – described as being between 10 and 17 years of age – across Cardinia Shire during the 2016 calendar year, compared to 108 in 2014.
However, youth crime rates across the shire haven’t always been on the decline.
The statistics reveal that for the five-year period from 2012 to 2016, crime increased from 80 reported incidents in 2012 to 95 in 2013 and 108 in 2014.
It wasn’t until 2015 that youth crime rates improved, with 102 incidents reported in the calendar year.
At a state level, Victoria has experienced a 10 per cent decrease in youth crime in the past decade.
The CSA research found that 56 per cent of young offenders committed at least one offence with another person in 2016, down from 63 per cent in 2007.
Crime Statistics Agency Chief Statistician Fiona Dowsley said young people were more likely to commit a crime when accompanied by someone else.
“More than half of all young offenders committed at least one crime in the company of others, compared to 30 per cent of offenders aged 18 to 24,” she said.
“Our research shows that the crime type most likely to be committed in company is robbery.
“Young people were less likely to commit serious assaults and motor vehicle thefts in company, Ms Dowsley said.
Co-offending rates for these crimes have decreased compared to 2007 and specific types of crimes committed by young people have also shown state-wide downward trends.
The CSA statistics report that the number of first-time young offenders committing property and deception offences has decreased by an average of almost nine per cent per year.
“The decrease in recorded property offences committed by young people was driven by a drop in retail theft offences,” Ms Dowsley said.
“We’ve also seen a reduction in the number of young people committing serious assaults in the last five years, and this reflects the broader trends highlighted in our quarterly crime statistics.”
