Victoria Police is making a record number of family violence arrests with new data showing one perpetrator is apprehended every 17 minutes.
Frontline police and specialised teams - including Family Violence Investigation Units and the Family Violence Command Taskforce - are continuing to proactively target and arrest offenders to keep victim-survivors safe.
The vast majority of offenders, some of the worst in the state, are being apprehended for violently assaulting their partners or former partners and children, stalking and making threats to kill.
They're also being arrested for actively avoiding police detection, outstanding warrants and unserved or breaching family violence intervention orders.
Crime Statistics Agency figures show 30,853 family violence offenders were either arrested or summonsed to court in the year to September 2024. It equates to an average of 84 arrests or summons to court each day.
That's one person arrested or brought before the courts for family violence offending every 17 minutes.
It's the highest number of arrests police have made for family violence since recording began in 2005.
Recently, a 26-year-old man was arrested for serious family violence offending towards a victim. The offences involved regular assaults on the victim, as well as failing to answer bail. The man - from Victoria - travelled to rural New South Wales while in the company and control of the victim, before being tracked down by the Family Violence Command Taskforce, who worked with New South Wales Police to apprehend him and ensure the safety of the victim. The man was then extradited back to Victoria and brought before the courts where he was sentenced to four months jail and placed on a 12-month Community Correction order.
The tireless work of a Family Violence Investigation Unit also resulted in a 40-year-old man being arrested for family violence offending towards his former partner. The offending included stalking and using technology - particularly multiple different phone numbers - to harass the victim, as well as persistently contravening a family violence intervention order. The man also impersonated a police officer and messaged the victim to attend a police station as she was wanted for arrest. The man was sentenced to 16 months behind bars.
A number of arrests for family violence crimes in the past year have been supported by Victoria Police's specialist units including the Public Order Response Team, VIPER Taskforce and Intelligence and Covert Support Command Proactive Targeting Teams.
Victoria Police is committed to responding to all forms of family violence, keeping victim-survivors safe and holding perpetrators to account.
If you or someone close to you discloses they are a victim of family violence, please believe them and encourage them to contact police or a specialist support service.
Police not only provide safety for victims who make a report, they also refer them to support services, so they get the assistance they need.
Victoria Police works closely with specialist family violence support services, including Safe Steps and No to Violence.
Support for those affected by family violence is available 24 hours a day through Safe Steps by calling 1800 015 188 or emailing [email protected]. Safe Steps also has Web Chat available on weekdays from 9am - Midnight, which can be accessed by visiting safesteps.org.au/chat.
If you are concerned about your own or someone else's behaviour - No to Violence runs a Men's Referral Service which helps men who use violence to change their behaviour and can be contacted on 1300 766 491.
In an emergency call Triple Zero (000). If you can't get to a phone, ask someone else to do it for you.
For more information on what Victoria Police is doing to protect victim-survivors of family violence visit police.vic.gov.au/family-violence.
Quotes attributable to Family Violence Command Assistant Commissioner Lauren Callaway:
"The family violence we're seeing perpetrated against partners or former partners and children is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
"These new figures highlight the force's continual efforts in tracking down these family violence offenders - some of the worst in the state - with one arrest every 17 minutes.
"While we know some offenders go to great lengths to avoid apprehension - including blackmailing victim-survivors or using friends to keep them in hiding - they're always in the sights of police.
"We will continue to work tirelessly day in and day out to apprehend these offenders and bring them before the courts to ensure the safety of victim-survivors.
"Whether it's through proactive patrols, carrying out checks and door knocks or through planned operations, we will never stop letting family violence offenders know they won't get away with their behaviour and will be caught by police."
