Victoria's top cop states 'child crime' is primary focus

Victoria's top cop has admitted that "child crime" is the biggest concern for police, noting that children are becoming increasingly brazen often going from "zero to one hundred".

In a one-on-one interview with 9News, Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton remarked that "notoriety" was a rising factor behind under-18 offending across the state.

"We are focused on it and throwing everything at it. We have seen it through sneak aggravated burglaries and high-end driving," Patton told 9News.

READ MORE: 'Heartbeat' of community destroyed in devastating fire in Victoria

"The key thing is the notoriety, why we are seeing the prevalence like we are and offenders going from zero to 100 just like that.

"In the past, we would have picked someone up for shoplifting or some other minor offence but now it's sometimes we are picking them up and their first offence is an aggravated burglary.

"We are arresting a lot. We will continue to use the bail laws that we got, it's a balance though."

Pattan said the rise in aggravated burglaries was "horrendous".

"The aggravated burglaries when you have young kids sneaking into people's houses at night, that's frightening. To have someone sneak in your home and steal your car it really does strike at the heart of people's feelings about safety."

READ MORE: Perth man in coma after being critically injured in Bali moped accident

Offences by children aged 14 to 17 rose by 30 per cent in 2023, according to the latest crime statistics, which was the highest rate of offending since 2009.

"We have a really mature task and coordination model and really proactive approach to intervening and locking them up and holding them to account," Patton said.

"The crime is still there but we are doing everything we can do address it."

Be sure to watch the full story on 9News Melbourne at 6pm.