Acting Inspector Pat Cleary said sharp jumps in theft of cars and theft from cars, up 30.6 per cent and 63.6 per cent respectively, was behind the surge and had detracted from a substantial decline in the rates of crimes against the person, which fell by 10.7 per cent.

"All crime is our priority but crimes against the person are where most of our focus goes and continues to go," he said.

"However, of concern to us is theft from and of cars, and we are doing our utmost to address these particular issues.

"Obviously, overall crime is a figure that we would prefer to see decrease and we are doing everything within our power to ensure these figures do decrease.

"The community of Ballarat need to be assured that every member at the police station is committed and dedicated to ensuring the people of Ballarat remain safe within the area and on our roads."

Ballarat's 2009 crime statistics went against the state trend in most categories.

While the city's total crime rate rose, Victoria-wide it dropped by 5.7 per cent.

Theft of and from cars also declined statewide, however crimes against the person rose slightly, by 0.3 per cent.

Insp Cleary attributed Ballarat's substantial drop in crimes against the person to the continued vigilance of the family violence unit and to ongoing foot patrols in the city's entertainment precinct on Friday and Saturday nights.

"The family violence unit has been doing a lot of work with families to decrease violence within the home, by processing those offending and providing support to the families," he said.

Insp Cleary said local police had identified the growing rates of car theft as a problem early last year, establishing Operation Twinge in September to target those involved in the crimes.

He said 143 offenders had been charged so far, and he expected continued improvement in this area.