For more than three minutes two police officers grill him over whether he was flaunting his laptop, and therefore asking to be robbed, or if he was drinking at the time of the robbery.

The man, who is increasingly baffled and frustrated, is then told he should get an alarm system and security cameras, keep his blinds closed, hide his valuables and take some self-defence classes.

The exchange is ridiculous because the video is a satire, proposing what could happen if robbery was handled the same way as sexual assault.

It is a slightly over-the-top way of taking aim at a culture of victim-blaming in crimes against women.

Last week The Age reported a Victorian priest's comments that if Melbourne woman Jill Meagher's faith had been stronger, she would have been home in bed the night she was raped and killed.

It is not clear from the story if the priest mentioned her killer, Adrian Bayley, who last week was found guilty of raping three other women.

The incident reminded me of Canadian police officer Michael Sanguinetti, who in 2011 said during a talk to law students that "women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimised".

Such comments are pretty extreme examples of victim-blaming.

While I am firmly against that culture, I did feel for Victorian homicide squad chief Detective Inspector Mick Hughes when he was criticised over comments made in a radio interview this month.

Speaking after the murder of Melbourne schoolgirl Masa Vukotic in a park on a weekday evening, Detective Inspector Hughes suggested that women should not be alone in parks.

"I'm sorry to say that is the case," he said.

"We just need to a be little bit more careful, a little bit more security conscious and we, as a public, need to look after each other."

The comments provoked a strong backlash, with Melbourne University academic Dr Lauren Rosewarne telling Fairfax Media it is was "yet another example on what women need to do to avoid being victims of crime as opposed to what men can do not to commit them".

I don't support Detective Inspector Hughes' comments. But I do think he was speaking with the best intentions.

He was offering safety advice while he searched for a killer.

The incident backlash does, however, point to a need to consider how we discuss crime.

If we are serious about tackling sexual abuse and domestic and physical violence in Australia, we need to show a strong commitment to condemning and focusing on the behaviour of the perpetrators.

Too often we scrutinise the actions of victims, and in doing so we send the wrong message.