CRIME fell in Ballarat by almost 10 per cent in the 2010-11 financial year, according to figures released by Victoria Police yesterday.Local police say the figures are reflective of their hard work over the past 12 months, with the 9.5 per cent drop comparing favourably to the average 2.4 per cent decline in crime across Victoria.Ballarat Police Inspector Bruce Thomas said it was a good result, but admitted there were still some problem areas.Of particular importance is the problem of drugs in Ballarat, which increased substantially. Drug-related offences rose by 35.4 per cent, and drug possession and use were up 39.5 per cent.Inspector Thomas said the 52 per cent rise in aggravated burglary could also be associated with drugs, which detectives and taskforces were working hard to reduce.“We’re catching more people using drugs – that’s a good thing. It means that we’re out there and actively prosecuting people,” he said.Despite the drug rise, the majority of crimes indicated a reduced level of crime – property damage, assault, theft of vehicles and theft from vehicles all fell sharply.Inspector Thomas described such acts as “crimes against the person”, which needed to be eradicated.“The crimes that impact on people, on your everyday citizens, they’re the ones that make people scared, make people fearful in the community. They’re the ones that have a big impact on people,” he said.“They’re the ones we’ve concentrated on and they’ve all come down, which has been really good.“We won’t rest on our laurels though, and we’re making concerted efforts to drive it (the crime rate) down.”Ballarat also compared favourably with other regional cities. Geelong’s crime rate rose rose by 0.2 per cent, Warrnambool’s fell by 7.4 per cent and Bendigo’s crime rate fell by 12. 3 per cent.