Moira Shire recorded 660 incidents of family violence in the first quarter of 2025.
Photo by
Romolo Tavani
Family and domestic violence continues to be a pressing issue in our community, with Moira Shire seeing yet another rise in reported incidents with thefts soaring.
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The Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) recently released data showing that Moira Shire had 660 family incidents in the first quarter of this year, a 4.6 per cent increase from the previous year and a concerning rise of 190 incidents over the past five years.
Criminal incidents slightly rose by 0.3 per cent, from 1742 to 1747, with breaches of family violence orders being the most common offence.
In Yarrawonga, crimes against the person have increased from 45 in 2016 to 73 in 2025 - a 62.2 per cent rise.
The most reported offences include assault, breaching of orders and stalking, harassment, and threatening behaviours.
Property and deception offences also increased in the past 12 months, mostly related to theft with property damage, burglary/ break and enter, drug use and possession and deception and arson.
CSA data revealed that Moira Shire experienced increases across all crime categories, although by less than one percent except for family incidents.
The only data which decreased was victim reports with a 2.2per cent drop.
Yarrawonga Police Acting Senior Sergeant Bree George said while it was disappointing to see an increase in crime, the minimal increases could be seen as a type of positive, considering the crime rates in a lot of other municipalities, especially metro.
“We are actively working to disrupt the cycle of family violence and delivering an environment where victims have confidence to report incidents and hold respondents to account,” Snr Sgt George said.
“The publicity around family violence I think is also driving an increase in our stats, as the community confidence has grown to continue to report the violence and ask for help as they are aware of the increase of services that can assist to break that violent cycle.
“In saying that though, we still have a long way to go with stopping the family violence.
“We are also working hard to provide community policing forums, where we engage with the community and collective agencies … where we listen, hear and treat all people with respect and develop an understanding of the core issues within our communities to enhance crime prevention and reduce harm.
“We also have a big focus on high visibility and responsive policing in 2025, so we are focusing on high impact areas that are affecting road trauma and using less discretion when road rules are being broken, as this is what is driving road trauma.
“Failing to wear seat belts, using mobile phones, exceeding the speed limit etc; they all play a part in the causes of road fatalities.”
Snr Sgt George said that Yarrawonga Police also had the continued strategy to disrupt crime.
She said in relation to theft, that police need community assistance as a lot of theft was opportunistic.
Opportunistic theft is on the rise as police implore with people to lock their cars and homes.
“We can only provide the same advice that we have been providing for years,” she said.
“The community needs to be vigilant, ensure vehicles are locked and secured, valuables are not left in sight, if you’re not home lock the house, ensure the bins are not left out the front and the mail is removed from the mailbox.
“Simple prevention measures are still not being taken, which is a big driver of thefts, theft from and theft of motor vehicles.
“We can’t take these measures; it is something the community needs to do.”
CSA chief statistician Fiona Dowsley said theft continued to rise sharply, with nearly a quarter of a million offences recorded in the last year.
“Largest increases were thefts from motor vehicles and retail stores, with many of these linked to repeat offending,” Ms Dowsley said.
“Family incidents increased over the last 12 months also, reaching 106,247, with more breaches of family violence orders and assaults related to family incidents.”
If you witness a crime, please contact: - Yarrawonga Police: 5744 3641 - Mulwala Police: 5743 8099 - Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or Cobram CIU: 5871 1977. For emergencies, always dial 000.
If you become a victim of any scams firstly contact your financial institution and the Police.
The Victoria Police website also has valuable crime prevention tips, party safe registration, firearms applications and forms as well as lots of other useful data for the community so visit police.vic.gov.au for more information.
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