Tracing the Path to Bendigo's 2025 Crime Figures

The Greater Bendigo region recorded 8,654 criminal incidents in the year to December 2025, a 9% fall from 2024 and the first crime rate decrease since 2021. This figure arrives after several years of rising totals and places the region in a position where overall volume has eased while certain offence types continue to dominate local records.

Why the 2025 numbers matter in context

The drop follows a period of consistent increases that began after 2021, when earlier reductions gave way to higher annual counts. The 2025 Community Safety Perception report and related incident data together provide a snapshot of how the region reached this point, with family violence order breaches remaining the leading category and youth offending rates showing a separate upward trajectory since 2019.

Breakdown of leading offence types

Breaching a Family Violence Order accounted for 1,998 incidents, the highest single category recorded. Stealing from a retail store followed with 903 incidents and criminal damage with 895. These three offence types together illustrate the main contributors to the overall total of 8,654 incidents and help explain the composition of the year's crime profile.

Community safety perceptions alongside incident data

The 2025 Community Safety Perception report records an average 'Feel Safe' rating of 7.62 for the City of Greater Bendigo. At the same time 56% of residents reported having home security systems. These perception measures sit next to the incident statistics and offer one view of how residents assessed their environment during the same period.

Youth offending trend since 2019

Youth offending reached 5.1 alleged offenders aged 10-17 per 1,000 residents. This represents a 69% climb since 2019 and forms a distinct trend within the broader set of figures. The increase in this age group stands apart from the overall 9% decline in total incidents for the year to December 2025.

Position relative to statewide and regional averages

Greater Bendigo's crime rate stood at 9,633.8 offences per 100,000 people compared with the statewide average of 6,668.6. The local rate remained lower than the corresponding figures for Ballarat, Shepparton, Mildura and Horsham. These comparisons locate the 2025 results within a wider Victorian pattern while highlighting the region's specific standing.

Residents seeking further detail can consult the 2025 Community Safety Perception report and the incident summaries released for the Greater Bendigo region. These documents contain the full category breakdowns and perception ratings used to compile the 2025 picture.