THEFT of motor vehicles in Ballarat continues to skyrocket despite a major police crackdown.New statistics reveal a 63 per cent increase in vehicle thefts in the past 12 months.The statistics also show most major crime areas have experienced an increase in offences.Ballarat police Inspector Bruce Thomas said he was not happy about the high number of vehicle thefts."I'm determined to drive it down," he said.From April 2009 to March 2010, there were 633 thefts of motor vehicles across Ballarat per 100,000 people.This compared with 388 thefts per 100,000 people from April 2008 to March 2009.Thefts from motor vehicles rose 28.4 per cent on last year's figures.Since October last year, Operation Twinge arrested 210 offenders in Ballarat, charging them with 1811 various offences.But they mainly target the key areas, including theft of motor vehicles and theft from motor vehicles.Inspector Thomas said he was happy with Operation Twinge's results, but admitted police could do more.He said they had a number of strategies in place to address the crimes.These included working with youth, plain-clothed officers on the beat, targeting repeat offenders and task groups.Ballarat police hope to conduct a four-week operation in the next two months, targeting crime in the CBD including theft from and theft of motor vehicles.But Inspector Thomas pleaded for the community's help."We can't do everything on our own. We need the community to help drive these figures down," he said.Other statistics for April 2009 to March 2010, compared to the previous year include: * Total crime, up 10.4 per cent;* Assaults, up 4.6 per cent;* Robbery, up 4.5 per cent;* Residential burglaries, up 9.5 per cent;* Crime against property, up 12 per cent;* Drug offences, up 5.7 per cent.Inspector Thomas said he was worried about all of the city's crime statistics.He said strategies in place to address them included a full-time youth officer educating youth, Melbourne's Operation Response Unit deploying high police numbers to the city for periods of time, and a repeat offender program. Meanwhile, fatalities and serious injuries recorded a big drop, down 44.1 per cent and 40.4 per cent respectively for April 2009 to March 2010.Inspector Thomas said this was a result of a "multi-faceted approach" from statewide operations, uniformed members and awareness programs."This result is good but we urge the community not to relax because the numbers are down," he said.He said the community did not need to become complacent on the road.