Latest crime data shows the rise of crime has slowed in the past 12 months – with crime across all categories increasing by only 2.8 per cent, compared to 11 per cent the year prior.  Theft in Ballarat LGA increased by 16.4 per cent while break and enter increased by 9.8 per cent. Superintendent Andrew Allen said police were gradually making inroads with volume crime – with significant reductions in crimes against the person. 

“Ballarat has achieved an outstanding reduction in crimes against the person over the past 12 months.  The CSA data shows that we have made significant gains in this area of crime with a reduction of -1.0 per cent  compared to the same category of 10.3 per cent last year,” Superintendent Allen said.

But he said police remained concerned about crossover motives for crime.

"There are links between drugs and other crimes," Supt Allen said.

In the Ballarat division – which includes other local government areas - overall property crime, largely driven by arson and theft, was up 7 per cent. Arson was up nearly 60 per cent. Superintendent Allen said offenders continued to steal cars to commit other crimes and then burn and dump the car in forest areas to destroy incriminating evidence. 

“The other part of the theft offence relates to theft from motor vehicles.  We are still seeing a high percentage cars being left unlocked in residential streets and in driveways of private premises,” Superintendent Allen said.

Across the state crime was up by nearly 13 per cent.  Crime Statistics Agency Chief Statistician Fiona Dowsley said that while the total number of unique offenders increased in the last 12 months, there was a drop in the number of recorded offenders under the age of 25.

“Over the last year we have seen a 4 per cent drop in the number of offenders under 25, with the greatest change seen among 15 to 19 year old offenders which dropped by 5 per cent’ Ms Dowsley said. 

However, Ballarat police still say youth offenders remain largely responsible for recurring, high volume crime which recent targeted operations had helped reduce.

“Our year to date data shows we have reduced residential burglary by over 17 per cent and commercial or other types of burglary has reduced by just under 15 per cent; again, some good operational work by our investigators has achieved these results which involves the targeting of recidivist offenders,” Superintendent Allen said. 

Police said suburb data – which showed a 650 per cent increase in drug trafficking in Wendouree and a 600 per cent increase in cultivation in Sebastopol showed police were making substantial drug related arrests. 

“A number of arrests have been made in relation  to cultivating and trafficking cannabis with some really good results by our Divisional Response Unit.  Operations are continuing in this category of drug offending,” Superintendent Allen said. 

Across the state data shows the average Victorian offenders under 25 were involved in  2.4 incidents per offender compared to the overall average of 2.0 incidents per offender.

The latest Victorian Crime rate was 8,851.7 offences per 100,000 people, an increase of 11.2 per cent.