Thousands more Victorians are falling victim to brazen home invasions as teenagers break in to steal cars, with police attributing the crime to the pursuit of "social media likes".
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Victoria recorded 5900 residential aggravated burglary offences in 2023, more than double the number from a decade ago with teenage criminals in the frame for the rising trend.
Of the 5900, almost 3800 of the offences are unsolved.
Police are focused on young people as among those behind the break-ins and have pinpointed teenagers aged between 14 and 17 as a major concern.
Youth crime in Victoria has risen significantly since 2022, with children aged 14 to 17 linked to more than 18,700 crimes in the state in 2023 - about 30 per cent more than the previous year.
That represented the highest rate of offending in the age group since 2009.
The number of crimes committed by children aged between 10 and 13 has risen by about 22 per cent since 2022, equating to that group's highest rate of offending since 2010.
One in five child offenders were recidivists behind at least three crimes.
"Much of the child and youth offending we're seeing is mindless and driven by the pursuit of notoriety or social media likes," Deputy Commissioner of Regional Operations Neil Paterson said.
"This is highlighted by the fact that police recovered 94 per cent of vehicles stolen during aggravated burglaries as part of Operation Trinity - cars stolen purely for joy riding and no financial gain."
Police have repeatedly told the community to lock their doors but in about 50 per cent of cases, burglars were stealing from unlocked homes, Mr Paterson said.
As recently as Thursday morning, officers arrested a 10-year-old who allegedly stole a car at Horsham about 300km northwest of Melbourne, he said.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton cautioned officers were still a way off stemming the increasing home invasions.
"We are trying to make (aggravated burglaries) drop. In the short term, I don't see them dropping," Mr Patton told ABC Radio Melbourne on Thursday.
"We are completely focused on it ... through targeting repeat youth offenders, through using every bit of legislation we can, through using all our intelligence analysts."
Since March 2023, an extra 70 officers have patrolled Victoria's streets as part of Operation Trinity through the night until dawn.
On Wednesday the government announced it would trial ankle bracelets for about 50 teenagers on bail charged with serious crimes in a move hailed by police but denounced by legal and youth advocacy groups.
Police Minister Anthony Carbines said the "scourge" of youth crime was being felt in other states.
"The challenge is youth offenders who are breaking into homes where doors are unlocked, stealing vehicles, driving them at speed," he said on Thursday.
"It is the thrill-seekers who cause damage ... and not understanding the seriousness of the crimes that they're committing that we need to keep clamping down on."
The force's operational focus was on youth crime as the government continued work on crime-fighting reforms, he said.
Opposition police spokesman Brad Battin said the crime statistics should prompt a re-think from the government on its pledge to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 12 and then 14.
"(It's) something that in the future we should be talking about but it's not the right time," the former police officer said.
Thefts from cars was Victoria's worst single crime statistic in 2023, rising by 9000 in 2022 to almost 57,000 meaning that there was, on average, 156 offences occurring every day.
Overall, the number of thefts in the state grew by almost 26,700 in 2023 to more than 174,700 offences, Crime Statistics Agency data revealed.
Victoria's overall crime in 2023 was still lower than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the number of offences in the state increased by more than 8 per cent since 2022 to about 523,500.
Australian Associated Press
