Chief Commissioner Simon Overland last Friday said that Ballarat police would be summoned to Melbourne to explain rising crime rates in the region.

He said local police were "obviously not" getting on top of the issues and the crime rate was "not satisfactory".

Ballarat Detective Sergeant Kevin Carson yesterday spoke out about plummeting morale at the station following Mr Overland's comments.

A police officer in the region for more than 20 years, Det Sgt Carson said in his experience Ballarat police were strongly committed to the job. "We are very disappointed that the police commissioner had to use a public forum to say we are lazy and not up to it," he said.

"It's as busy here and the people work as hard as anywhere else."

Det Sgt Carson, of the Ballarat Criminal Investigation Unit, said unlike metropolitan areas, most police in Ballarat lived in the area.

"We worry about Ballarat and we are concerned because our kids grow up in this town," he said.

"And to have comments like that made about not being good enough - we are doing what we can with the resources we have got.

"I think a lot of the uniform members are devastated."

Mr Overland had said Ballarat experienced similar issues to other areas including concerns about alcohol-related violence, but the crime rate was not satisfactory.

The figures revealed an overall jump in crime of 7.6 per cent in Ballarat in 2009, with the greatest increase in the areas of theft from cars (up 30.6 per cent) and theft of cars (up 63.3 per cent).

Det Sgt Carson yesterday said police had worked "fantastically long hours" as part of Operation Twinge to target car thefts. He said 120 people were charged with more than 1000 offences as part of the operation which began in October.

Det Sgt Carson said police worked long hours as officers on sick leave were not replaced.

"There's no reserve bench,' he said.

"Everyone is under the pump, everyone has so much work to do now and we are so accountable."