About Victoria Police

Corporate Statistics

Corporate Statistics is required to collect, collate, analyse and disseminate statistical data collected by Victoria Police. Reports that provide statistics and analysis for crime and traffic issues are published regularly. Corporate Statistics also provides an advisory service to both internal and external customers.

Crime, traffic and population statistics are collected, with crime and traffic statistics covering the whole of Victoria.

All data requests should be directed to: CORPORATESTATISTICS-REQUESTS-MGR@police.vic.gov.au

Crime statistics

VIEW CRIME STATISTICS

On 1 March, 1993, Victoria Police implemented the Law Enforcement Assistance Program (LEAP) statewide. The LEAP database is fully relational and stores particulars of all crimes bought to the notice of police as well as family incidents and missing persons. It also includes details on locations, vehicles and persons involved. The database is online and updated constantly, 24 hours a day.

A copy of the LEAP database is downloaded each night for use by various areas of the Victoria Police to produce crime statistics and conduct data analysis.

Caution should be exercised when interpreting recorded crime statistics, as only those offences which become known to police and for which a crime report has been completed are included in the statistics.

Victoria Police uses three methods of counting crime depending on the particular offence. For all crime against the person, and most crime against property, the counting unit is the number of principal victims for each separate occurrence of the offence. For example, if three offenders assault two persons, then two offences of assault are recorded.

For offences against statute such as possess and use drugs, the number of alleged offenders is the counting unit. For example, if three offenders were found in possession of cannabis, then three offences of possessing cannabis would be counted. For a small number of infrequent offences, such as piracy, the event itself becomes the counting unit; that is, one offence is counted for each incident of piracy.

Only the most serious offence which best describes a distinct course of criminal conduct is recorded in official crime statistics, even though an offender may be charged with other offences resulting from the one incident. For example, an offender carrying a firearm commits an armed robbery - only the offence of armed robbery is recorded although the offender would be charged with armed robbery and possession of a firearm.

The number of distinct courses of criminal conduct occurring within an incident will generally be one unless there is a break in time and/or location. For example, if an offender presents three valueless cheques to a teller only one offence would be recorded but if the three cheques were presented at different times or at different branches then three offences would be recorded.

Broad offence categories
There are in excess of 4000 individual statutory and common law offences recorded on LEAP which have been grouped into 27 broad offence categories. These categories are further subdivided into four general classes of Crime Against the Person, Crime Against Property, Drug Offences and Other Crime. Offences dealt with by way of penalty notice and/or traffic offences are not recorded on LEAP and are not included in the official crime statistics.

Offence degree
Offences are classified as substantive offences, attempts, conspiracies, accessories and/or aid or incitement and abet. Unless otherwise stated, the statistics presented in this publication include all degrees of the offence.

Cleared offence
A cleared offence refers to all offences recorded on LEAP that has been resolved. This could be because an alleged offender was processed, an investigation reveals no offence occurred, the complaint was withdrawn, or the perpetrator was known but for legal and other reasons could not be charged (e.g. under age or deceased).

Single-year clearances
A single-year clearance refers to the number of offences recorded during the corresponding financial year which were cleared within the same period. They are also represented as a proportion of the total offences recorded. Offences cleared within this period, which had been reported in earlier reporting periods, are not included in the single year clearances.

Homicide statistics
The offence category of Homicide is not restricted to the offence of murder but includes offences such as manslaughter and culpable driving which also result in the death of a person. The offence category of homicide also includes attempts and other degrees of the offence.

Victims
Victims of crime are classified as either persons, businesses, statute or other depending on the nature of the offence. Victim profiles presented in this publication are based on those victims recorded as persons only. Victims who are victimised on more than one occasion are counted for each occasion.

Alleged offenders
Alleged Offenders refer to persons who have allegedly committed a criminal offence and have been processed for that offence by either arrest, summons, caution or warrant of apprehension during the corresponding financial year regardless of when the offence occurred.

Those persons who for legal or other reasons were apprehended but were not charged are also included. Persons are counted on each occasion they are processed and for each offence counted in recorded offences (e.g. a person processed on three occasions will be counted three times). Only the offence in recorded offences for which the offender has been processed is included.

Charges
This refers to the total number of charges laid against an offender. These include secondary offences that are not included in the recorded figures for offences. For example, if two offenders each carrying a firearm, assault a customer during the course of an armed robbery, this would result in charges of possess firearm, armed robbery, robbery, theft, and assault being laid against each offender.

The number of offences counted in the recorded figures for offences however, would be one offence of armed robbery. The number of charges therefore, will be considerably higher than the number of reported offences and the number of offenders. Note that for a variety of reasons, offenders may not be subsequently presented before a court on all charges laid at the time of their apprehension.

Publication - An overview of Victorian crime statistics
Corporate Statistics produces an annual publication titled Victoria Police Crime Statistics. This publication is available in many libraries or by contacting Corporate Statistics.

Traffic statistics

Collisions Management Information System
The Collisions Management Information System (CMIS) was designed and is managed by Corporate Statistics. The system provides summary information relating to all traffic collisions reported to Victoria Police, by reading data from the TAIS system (based on submitted Accident Forms 510). The data is updated every Sunday night.

CMIS contains an accident blackspot module, which provides users with information pertaining to traffic accident blackspots. Either intersection or mid-block blackspots can be targeted, with results shown as a simple tabular summary or in more detailed reports.

Fatal Collisions Management Information System
Corporate Statistics is responsible for the collection, collation and analysis of road traffic fatalities throughout Victoria. The fatal collisions management system (FCMIS) provides management and operational information relating to fatal traffic accidents.

Population statistics

Corporate Statistics has produced various population and demographic statistics by Police Regions, Divisions, Districts and Local Government Areas.

Population figures used for state level statistics were calculated using estimated resident population figures as at 31 December, 2008 obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS Cat. No. 3101.0). This date is the mid-point of the year of 2008-09

Population figures used for Region, Division, District and LGA statistics were calculated using estimated resident population figures as at 30 June, 2008 obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS Cat. No. 3218.0).

These are available from the ABS website link on the right side of this page.

Contact us:

Corporate Statistics
Corporate Strategy and Performance
Victoria Police Centre
637 Flinders Street
Melbourne, VIC, 3005

Phone: (03) 9247 6703
Fax:       (03) 9247 6045