MELBOURNE, March 19 (Xinhua) -- The number of crimes recorded in the Australian state of Victoria grew by 4.2 percent in 2025 as youth offenders drove an increase in carjackings and robberies, with the crime rate hitting a nine-year high.

According to official data released on Thursday by the state's Crime Statistics Agency (CSA), Victoria Police recorded 630,592 criminal offenses in the calendar year 2025, up 4.2 percent from 605,342 in 2024.

The crime rate, which accounts for population growth, increased by 2.4 percent from 8,674.1 offenses per 100,000 people in 2024 to 8,885.5 offenses per 100,000 people in 2025, the highest figure since 2016.

Victoria Police said in a statement that overall crime is starting to stabilize after the state's crime rate spiked by 19 percent between 2022 and 2024.

However, it noted that the number of reported car thefts hit the highest level since 2001 in 2025, and has increased by 96.9 percent over the last three years, and retail theft offenses increased by 6.1 percent in 2025.

Victoria Police said that child offenders committed 57.6 percent of carjackings, 52.6 percent of home invasions, 62.4 percent of robberies and 47.8 percent of aggravated burglaries in the state in 2025.

It said that youth gang members were most commonly responsible for those crimes and that 1,223 children were arrested by officers a combined 6,997 times in 2025.

Under laws passed by the state parliament in December, children as young as 14 who are charged with violent offenses, including carjacking, home invasion and armed robbery, can face adult courts and adult sentences, including life imprisonment.

The state government also, in 2025, classified machetes as prohibited weapons, making it illegal to own, use, transport or sell them except for legitimate purposes such as agriculture.

Victoria Police said on Thursday that it seized a record 17,400 knives and machetes in 2025. ■