CRIME across the Mornington Peninsula has dropped by nearly 10 per cent in the year ended March 2026, according to newly released figures from the Crime Statistics Agency.
There were 11,588 criminal offences recorded in the Mornington Peninsula LGA in the year ending March 2026, down from 12,855 offences in the previous 12 months; a drop of 9.9 per cent.
Despite the drop, crime has still risen by 31 per cent on the Mornington Peninsula since 2022.
Rosebud was the peninsula suburb most affected by crime, followed closely by Mornington and Hastings.
Rosebud witnessed a large jump in offences recorded, up from 1900 in the previous 12 months, to 2090 during the 12 months up to March 2026.
Mornington’s offences recorded dropped from 2194 to 1778 and Hastings’ from 1765 to 1689 in the same time period.
The data shows the largest offence recorded was “breach family violence order”, increasing marginally in the 12 months from 1656 incidents to 1670 incidents.
The next most common offence was “steal from a motor vehicle” which dropped substantially from 1609 in the previous 12 months to 1172 in the 12 months up to March 2026.
The third most common offence was “steal from a retail store”, which rose considerably from 773 offences in the previous 12 months compared to 933 incidents in the 12 months to March 2026.
Data also showed of 5097 offences lead to an arrest or summons, and 4647 offences (just over 40 per cent) remained unsolved.
Member for Mornington, Chris Crewther, said there was much more that needed to be done.
“Despite this recent small drop, overall crime is still up across Victoria under Premier Allan’s time in charge, and, it remains up on the Mornington Peninsula under Labor,” said Crewther.
“We need more police officers given the 1500+ shortage and pressure on current police. We need police station front counter hours restored across.
CRIME across the Mornington Peninsula has dropped by nearly 10 per cent in the year ended March 2026, according to newly released figures from the Crime Statistics Agency.
There were 11,588 criminal offences recorded in the Mornington Peninsula LGA in the year ending March 2026, down from 12,855 offences in the previous 12 months; a drop of 9.9 per cent.
Despite the drop, crime has still risen by 31 per cent on the Mornington Peninsula since 2022.
Rosebud was the peninsula suburb most affected by crime, followed closely by Mornington and Hastings.
Rosebud witnessed a large jump in offences recorded, up from 1900 in the previous 12 months, to 2090 during the 12 months up to March 2026.
Mornington’s offences recorded dropped from 2194 to 1778 and Hastings’ from 1765 to 1689 in the same time period.
The data shows the largest offence recorded was “breach family violence order”, increasing marginally in the 12 months from 1656 incidents to 1670 incidents.
The next most common offence was “steal from a motor vehicle” which dropped substantially from 1609 in the previous 12 months to 1172 in the 12 months up to March 2026.
The third most common offence was “steal from a retail store”, which rose considerably from 773 offences in the previous 12 months compared to 933 incidents in the 12 months to March 2026.
Data also showed of 5097 offences lead to an arrest or summons, and 4647 offences (just over 40 per cent) remained unsolved.
Member for Mornington, Chris Crewther, said there was much more that needed to be done.
“Despite this recent small drop, overall crime is still up across Victoria under Premier Allan’s time in charge, and, it remains up on the Mornington Peninsula under Labor,” said Crewther.
“We need more police officers given the 1500+ shortage and pressure on current police. We need police station front counter hours restored across.
“We need stronger bail laws, and consequences for offenders. We need better crime prevention. We need all this to keep people safe.”
In the neighbouring Frankston LGA, total offences went down 3.7 per cent from 17,740 to 17,0793 offences. “Steal from motor vehicle” was the most common offence in Frankston with 2019 incidents recorded for the 12 months until March 2026.
Statewide, criminal offences have fallen slightly with 625,426 criminal offences recorded in Victoria in the twelve months to March 2026 – a decrease of 1,524 or 0.2%.
A statement from Victoria Police said: “While this is the first time Victoria has recorded a decrease in crime in almost four years, ever so slight it is, crime remains far too high”.
“Despite today’s decrease, overall crime has still increased by 26% over the past three years.”
Victoria Police analysis suggests it will take some time before crime reduces to levels more traditionally seen in Victoria, with the cost of living, recidivism, organised crime and drugs remaining the main drivers, enabled through the increased use of technology.
“While pleasing to see overall crime slightly decrease, the reality is that overall crime in Victoria still remains far higher than both police and the community would like,” said Deputy Commissioner Regional Operations Bob Hill.
“This is why we are absolutely committed to ensuring our highly trained officers are where they are needed most – in the community, patrolling the streets, deterring criminal behaviour and preventing crime.
“This approach is pivotal to achieving Victoria Police’s goal of reducing serious and violent crime by 5% each year.
“Our dedicated officers continue to work extremely hard around-the-clock to protect the community, with a record 210 offenders arrested every day.”
First published in the Mornington News – 23 June 2026
