Crime in Casey has surged to alarming levels, with 31,016 offences recorded in the year ending September 2025 a 19.7 per cent increase on the previous year.
According to the latest crime statistics, Cranbourne and Narre Warren held their lead as the suburbs with the highest offences, followed by Berwick, Clyde North and Hampton Park.
Houses remain the primary target, with 12,403 reported, up 13.9 per cent. Other offences occurred across streets, lanes, footpaths, shopping centres, driveways, carports, and service stations.
Stealing from motor vehicles topped the list, rising 24.3 per cent or 4,476 incidents.
Family violence order breaches, the second fastest growing crime, rose 22.5 percent (or 3,813).
Police intelligence shows most of these breaches relate to offenders using mobile phones and social media to target victims, particularly ex-partners.
Other subcategories also climbed: criminal damage (2,243 or 23.4 per cent), other thefts (2,519 or 9.4 percent), and motor vehicles (2,026 or 49.2 per cent).
Particularly retail theft remains at record levels across the state, with aggression towards retail staff and other antisocial behaviour at shopping centres an issue.
Operation Pulse, launched on 8 December, deploys police and protective services officers to four of Melbourne’s largest shopping centres to patrol, engage with retailers, and conduct non-invasive searches for weapons
In its first week, Pulse resulted in 43 arrests, 14 penalty notices, and eight weapons seized, with more than a third of offences linked to shoplifting.
Knife crime continues to worry police and the community. Between 2021 and 2024, machete-related incidents tripled from 610 to 2,061, with young males responsible for 40 per cent of cases. Victoria Police seized more than 16,000 edged weapons this year—an average of 47 per day.
Youth offenders remain a major focus. Most alleged offenders in Casey fall into the age groups 10–17, 18–24, and over 45. Police warn that child offenders aged 12–17 are overrepresented in serious crimes and repeat offending across the state.
Operations such as Alliance and Trinity have been highly successful arresting serious and violent young offenders. In the past year, these two operations have led to 3,100 arrests of youth gang members, underage burglars and young car thieves.
Brad Battin, Berwick MP and Shadow Minister for Police and Corrections, said the Labor Government “must open” Clyde North Police station to the public and place extra resources in the Casey and Cardinia region to help bring down the crime rate.
“They promised that in 2018 and are now gaslighting the community when they desperately need support,” he said.
“With crime in Clyde North up 33 per cent, it is simply unacceptable that the Clyde North Police Station is not open and staffed for the public. Our community needs police on the ground now, not more lies and spin from Labor.”
