THE Gannawarra local government area experienced more than a 30 per cent increase in criminal incidents in the past 12 months,
But local police say this increase could be due to having more police resources available around the region working to keep communities safe.
The Gannawarra region saw a 31.7 per cent rise in criminal incidents from the previous year’s data – up from 524 to 690 incidents between last March and the same time this year.
The increase was the third highest in the state, behind only the Towong and West Wimmera regions, as the Gannawarra remains above the State’s criminal incident rate.
The criminal incident rate in the region grew from 5028.8 in the previous data to 6645.6 per 100,000 population compared to the state average of 5686.4.
Swan Hill acting inspector Brian Hansen said the increase was due to police having the resources to conduct search warrants and keep the community safe.
“We’ve suddenly got more police down in that area,” Insp Hansen said.
“We’ve been kicking in a lot of doors, executing search warrants and identifying offenders really early.
“Our clearance rates in that area has been really good, and that’s why those rates have grown so much.
“It’s good for the public to know that the police are out there doing their job and keeping the communities safe.”
Kerang was the leading location for incidents in the region, up from 291 incidents to 447 in the latest data, while Cohuna saw a decrease from 109 to 93.
Charges were laid in 43.8 per cent of the recorded criminal incidents, with no charges laid in 20.3 per cent and 35.9 percent of incidents remaining unsolved.
Insp Hansen said police in the Gannawarra region worked hard with the little resources they often had.
“I think it’s a credit to a lot of the work that gets done here,” he said.
“We’re a remote station with limited resources.
“We don’t get that same support as stations in metropolitan areas and big regional centers do.
“We very much are working on our own and need to make the most of the resources that we do have.”
A 35 per cent increase in family incidents, from 163 to 220, was indicative of one incident sub-group that grew, with the breach of family violence orders rising from 42 to 65.
The breach of orders was another offence group that grew in the last year, increasing from 234 to 292.
Incidents of theft almost doubled in the past year, from 40 to 74, while incidents of criminal damage decreased slightly from 68 to 66.
Theft offences grew from 53 to 88, and dangerous and negligent acts endangering people also grew from 143 to 151.
The majority of alleged offenders were male, making up 310 of alleged offenders, while females were alleged to have been responsible for 113 offences.
Incidents of youth crime continued to be an issue, with 41 offences allegedly committed by those aged 10 to 17, and those aged 18 to 24 responsible for 60 alleged offences.
Alleged offenders over the age of 45 accounted for 117 incidents, while 76 incidents were alleged to have been committed by those aged 25 to 29.
