South Melbourne crime rate and Crime Score · Victoria
South Melbourne is a suburb in the Port Phillip council area of Victoria (about 114,434 residents in the council). The council has a Crime Score 72 out of 100 (high), 56th of 362 councils nationally.
Modelled estimate, not police figures: South Melbourne (11,548 residents at the 2021 Census) is estimated to account for about 1,780 of the offences recorded each year in the Port Phillip council area (likely 880 to 2,920), roughly 15,000 per 100,000 residents, including about 180 violent offences (likely 110 to 250). Ranges are 80% intervals; confidence 44 of 100. The estimate shares the council's published total (2025-26, three-year average) between its suburbs using a model trained on South Australia's suburb-level police data and ABS measures of each suburb's population and socio-economic profile.
The score blends national percentile ranks for each published offence category with fixed severity weights; here it is driven most by break-ins (87th percentile), assault (53rd percentile), robbery (92nd percentile). Five years earlier the same basis gave 75.
In 2024-25: violent 1,383 per 100,000 (+15% vs five years earlier); property 9,443 per 100,000 (+28% vs five years earlier); break-ins 1,331 per 100,000 (+52% vs five years earlier); theft 5,498 per 100,000 (+34% vs five years earlier). For violent crime that is 23rd of 79 Victoria councils with data, highest first.
Unemployment in the Port Phillip council area is 4.5% (Victoria 5%), Census, 10 August 2021. Social housing makes up 4.9% of occupied homes (1,811 public and 590 community-housing dwellings at the 2021 Census; Victoria 2.5%). An estimated 1,065 people were homeless on Census night 2021, 102.6 per 10,000 residents (Victoria 47.1), apportioned from ABS Statistical Area Level 2 counts. 35.3% of residents were born overseas (Victoria 31.6%), most often in England, New Zealand, India. Modelled estimates for 2026-27, not measurements: unemployment about 5% (confidence 84 of 100); social housing about 4.5% of homes; about 100.8 homeless people per 10,000 residents; about 35.9% born overseas. Confidence falls with distance from the last published figure, and the map's Estimates toggle shows every year back to 1994-95.
Victoria publishes crime statistics by council area, not by suburb, so the figures shown for South Melbourne are those of the Port Phillip council area.
Figures are for 2024-25, the latest year Victoria has published; some other states have released 2025-26.
| Offences | Per 100,000 | Count | 5-yr change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent | 1,383 | 1,583 | +15% |
| Property | 9,443 | 10,806 | +28% |
| Break-ins | 1,331 | 1,523 | +52% |
| Theft | 5,498 | 6,292 | +34% |
How suburb estimates are made, and how accurate they are.
Port Phillip council area: full statistics · Interactive map of every council.
Crime in postcode 3205: every suburb and council it covers.
Questions
Is South Melbourne safe?
Victoria publishes crime figures by council area, not by suburb. South Melbourne is in the Port Phillip council area, which recorded 1,380 violent offences per 100,000 residents in 2024-25, about 31% higher than the Victoria rate (1,060) and about 14% higher than the national rate (1,220). A modelled estimate for South Melbourne itself is roughly 15,000 offences of all kinds per 100,000 residents a year (an estimate, not police figures). These are offences recorded by police per resident: they describe the area as a whole, not the risk on any particular street, and places with a busy centre record more because offences are counted where they happen.
Police news near South Melbourne
- Police investigate Reservoir death · Reservoir, 28 Oct 2026 · 14 km away
Nearby suburbs
Albert Park · Elwood · Middle Park · Port Melbourne · Saint Kilda · Saint Kilda West
australiancrimerate.com.au/suburb/vic/south-melbourne/ · Australian Crime Map