Earlier this month, I learned that a friend’s home one kilometre away had been the target of an attempted home invasion.
The burglars hopped over a neighbour’s side fence and tried to force their way into the house via the back door.
Fortunately, my friend awoke, made a ruckus, and the burglars fled.
The following day, the police reported that several homes in the area had been burgled.
A similar incident occurred last year when I awoke to find a burglar attempting to force their way through my side gate before I scared them away. My car has also been broken into multiple times.
My WhatsApp group of 30 local school dads shares regular stories of attempted burglaries in the area, as does the local community’s FaceBook page.
The Greater Melbourne Area has experienced a surge in attempted home burglaries and carjackings by machete-wielding gangs.
The situation has become so severe that resident groups in some wealthy suburbs have begun hiring private security to patrol the streets.
A new Herald-Sun analysis of data from the Crime Statistics Agency Victoria and the Bureau of Crime Statistics NSW highlighted the growing crime problem in Victoria.
Both states had similar crime statistics figures for burglary, car theft, theft from cars, and retail theft a decade ago. However, the number of crimes across these four categories in Victoria increased from 131,140 in 2015 to 176,729 in 2024.
By contrast, NSW’s number of such crimes has fallen from 122,107 to just 97,553 over the same period.
A senior Victorian police officer attributes the disparity to the state’s weak bail and sentencing laws.
“There’s no fear” among offenders of being caught.
“The simple risk over reward scenario shows the risk isn’t that great — it all comes down to consequences”, he said.
Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Bob Hill said the data release must be a “line in the sand moment”.
“As a society, we simply cannot tolerate this level of offending … the community deserves more”, he said.
Premier Jacinta Allan announced a ban on machetes and strict new bail laws earlier this month, with judges and magistrates ordered to put community safety first.
A record 14,797 knives, swords, daggers, and machetes were seized in 2024, renewing calls for a tougher weapons crackdown.
The stories are all too familiar. Teenagers perpetrate assaults, burglaries, or carjackings, only to be slapped on the wrist and sent back to commit further crimes.
Melbourne residents should not have to barricade themselves in their homes and sleep with one eye open.
If half as much effort was put into law enforcement as was spent policing pandemic lockdowns and mask-wearing, Melbourne’s crime wave would be over.
Law and order are essential state government responsibilities, and the Victorian Labor Government failed dismally.
