Breaches of family violence orders have once again been recorded as the most common crime in the Geelong region, with local police pointing to modern technology as a significant and complex factor in the ongoing crisis.
Alarming statistics reveal persistent problem
According to the latest Victoria Police crime data, breaches of family violence orders (FVOs) and personal safety intervention orders (PSIOs) topped the list of offences for the Geelong Police Service Area in the year to March 2024. A total of 1,895 breach incidents were reported, maintaining a grim consistency with previous years and underscoring the entrenched nature of domestic abuse in the community.
This figure far outpaced other common crimes, including theft from motor vehicles (1,363 incidents) and other theft offences (1,237 incidents). The data paints a clear picture of the primary safety challenge facing the region.
Technology: A tool for both abuse and enforcement
Geelong's Inspector, Peter Nichols, provided critical insight into the role of digital tools in this epidemic. He explained that while technology has given police powerful new methods to gather evidence and monitor perpetrators, it has also armed offenders with more ways to stalk, threaten, and control their victims.
"Technology is a double-edged sword," Inspector Nichols stated. He detailed how perpetrators now commonly use GPS tracking, relentless text messages, social media harassment, and surveillance apps to breach orders and maintain a presence in their victim's life, even from a distance.
Conversely, this same digital footprint provides police with a trail of evidence. Text messages, emails, social media posts, and location data are increasingly used to prove breaches in court, leading to more successful prosecutions.
Community and police response intensifies
The police response has evolved to meet this technological challenge. Officers are receiving enhanced training to recognise and investigate technology-facilitated abuse. There is also a strong focus on encouraging victims to report all contact, including digital breaches, which were sometimes previously dismissed or not understood as serious violations.
Community awareness is also seen as vital. Local support services continue to advocate for victims, emphasising that a breach of an order—whether in person or online—is a serious crime and should be reported immediately to police.
The persistent high number of breaches indicates that while reporting and enforcement may be improving, the underlying behaviour remains rampant. It highlights the critical need for ongoing perpetrator accountability and support for victim-survivors to enhance safety planning in the digital age.
A call for continued vigilance and reporting
The data serves as a sobering reminder that family violence remains Geelong's most pressing law and order issue. Inspector Nichols reinforced the message that police take every breach seriously and urged the community not to tolerate any form of abuse.
The key takeaway for the public is clear: any unwanted contact that violates the conditions of a family violence or personal safety order is a crime. Victims are encouraged to contact police on 000 in an emergency or to make a report at their local station, preserving any digital evidence of the breach.
As technology continues to evolve, so too must the strategies to combat its misuse in the context of domestic abuse, making community education and robust police action more important than ever.
