Benalla crime rate down but still above state average

By Simon Ruppert

Dec 15, 2022

Positive trajectory: Total criminal incidents in the Benalla Rural City local government area are down 5.4 per cent compared to 2021. Photo by Contributed

Overall crime in Benalla is down this year, however the rural city’s rate of family violence incidents is still way above the state average — as is overall crime.

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The total rate of criminal incidents has dropped 5.4 per in the year ending September 2022.

The criminal incident rate per 100,000 population in Benalla was 6521.7, compared with the Victorian rate of 5217.5.

Figures also show that the family incident rate per 100,000 population for Benalla this year was 2494, compared with the Victorian rate of 1387.

However this does represent a 7.4 per cent drop from 2021.

As you might expect, the Benalla township has by far the highest rate of crime in the local government area compared to surrounding towns with much smaller populations.

However the number of criminal incidents in Benalla is down from 909 in 2021 to 845 this year.

The Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) released the Victorian recorded crime statistics for the year ending September 30, 2022 on Thursday, December 15.

Statewide, in the 12 months to the end of September, the criminal incident rate decreased 4.3 per cent to 5217.5 per 100,000 Victorians, the lowest level since the year ending 2005.

Similarly, the overall criminal incidents decreased, down 3.6 per cent or 12,938 to 343,982 incidents.

CSA Chief Statistician Fiona Dowsley said the notable decreases in recorded crime levels during the COVID-19 pandemic period had contributed to the lowest Victorian criminal incident rates since 2005.

“Decreases in breaches of chief health officer public orders are the main driver of the decrease in alleged offender incidents in the last 12 months, with offences for breaches of chief health officer directions related to the COVID-19 pandemic measures peaking during 2020,” Ms Dowsley said.