Victoria Police announced as part of the latest data release from the Crime Statistics Agency that the agency’s “focused effort” on crane drivers has shown “excellent results” despite There are more and more dangerous driving violations.
Called Operation Achilles, the campaign began in February 2021 to reduce the harm caused by crane drivers.
Since its inception, Victoria Police have charged more than 360 car drivers with nearly 3,000 offenses and impounded 375 vehicles in connection with willful high-risk driving.
According to police intelligence, this high level of enforcement has resulted in a 75% reduction in organized hoon encounters.
In 2022, the number of dangerous driving violations has increased significantly, increasing by 20.6% compared to 2021 and 44.4% compared to 2019.
Victoria Police claim this is due to a “proactive focus” on road safety throughout the last year and is also linked to other forms of offence, such as motor vehicle theft.
Speaking of car thefts, they are up 6.2 percent year-on-year, although there will still be 3,756 vehicles stolen compared to 2019.
Car robberies also fell to their lowest level since the crime was introduced in December 2016. There were 243 car robberies in Victoria last year, down from 319 in 2021.
Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner for Regional Operations Rick Nugent said: “Despite a slight increase in crime from 2021, it is encouraging that overall crime is still almost 10 per cent lower than pre-pandemic levels.
“These trends are in line with our expectations based on the intelligence available to us, which suggests
crime overall has not ‘returned’ significantly to pre-COVID levels.
“In the coming year, police will continue to focus on proactive prevention and law enforcement to ensure that
community is not only safe, but feels safe at home, in public and on the road,” he added.
