Victims of crime could be given a more central role in the justice system as part of a major review of a victims' charter.
Victoria's Victims of Crime Commissioner Elizabeth Langdon announced the review on Friday, one day after fresh statistics revealed a 15 per cent spike in criminal incidents across the state in the past 12 months.
The overhaul marks the first since the charter's introduction in 2006 and will seek feedback from victims, their families, justice agencies and the community.
"We must take opportunities to strengthen victims' rights wherever we can, to ensure victims are central to justice processes and to make sure that support services uphold the charter," said Ms Langdon, who began in the role in August.
"The charter was developed to set out victims' entitlements and to provide guidance to agencies about how victims must be treated.
"My review will assess whether it is still working and where it needs to be adapted to benefit victims today."
The commissioner's findings will be presented to the state government by September 7, 2025, when they are tabled in parliament.
"My goal is to ensure that all victims of crime feel empowered and supported throughout their journey in the justice system," Ms Langdon said.
The Victims' Charter is made up of 17 principles intended to guide how victims and survivors of crime should be treated.
These include being treated with courtesy, respect and dignity, protecting victims' personal information and having regard to victims who experience specific barriers to the justice system.
The number of criminal incidents recorded in the year to September 30 was 431,683, up 15 per cent on the same period in 2023, Victoria's Crime Statistics Agency revealed on Thursday.
It was the highest record of criminal incidents since the agency began reporting 20 years ago.
Police also made the most arrests since 2005, nabbing 26,640 people a total of 70,863 times - an average of 194 arrests a day.
Family violence has reached its highest levels in Victoria, while theft and youth crime are also peaking.
Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Neil Paterson said Victoria had recorded 100,000 family violence incidents for the first time in an "unwanted milestone".
A fifth of all crime in the state was connected to family violence, with 102,082 incidents.
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