Family violence incidents are continuing to rise in the Greater Geelong region, according to data released by the Crime Statistics Agency.
The 2022-23 Victorian Family Violence database released on Wednesday, December 6, found the number of family violence offences had risen by 3.2 per cent from the last financial year.
Breach of family violence orders was the highest recorded offence in 2023, with 2940 incidents, followed by common assault (639), criminal damage (409), serious assault (318), and threatening behaviour (135).
Police recorded that the number of family violence incidents increased by 476 from 4389 in the 2021-22 financial year.
Despite family violence intervention order matters (FVIO) heard in specialist family violence courts being 2.7 times higher than last year, Greater Geelong numbers remained constant over five years.
During the latest financial period, 3239 FVIO Greater Geelong applications to the Magistrates’ and Children’s Court 321 were received, which is a small drop from 3268 last year.
Most of the region’s family violence incidents, 90.7 per cent, occurred at residential premises, while 454 incidents happened at a nonresidential location.
Crime Statistics Agency chief statistician Fiona Dowsley said the state’s data showed an advance in how the Victorian criminal justice system responded to family violence.
“There has been a significant increase in the number of family violence intervention order cases heard in the specialist family violence jurisdiction over the past 12 months,” she said.
“This shift demonstrates an increase in the capacity of the criminal justice system to apply specialist knowledge to manage often complex family violence matters.
“Evidence suggests that this can result in better outcomes for victim survivors of family violence.”
