Sobering family violence statistics have resulted in six more Victoria Police specialists being deployed to Ballarat and Moorabool to help combat the issue.
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The number of family-related incidents have increased across the city, with police called to an average of five a day according to the latest statistics.
Additional police resources and more people reporting incidents has contributed to the increase.
The Courier can reveal the family violence specialists will be shared across the two areas over a 12-month period from May.
This is on top of 25 general duties police officers - 15 in Ballarat - in a bid to eliminate crime in a city that is experiencing rapid population growth.
Victoria Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Paul Naylor said Ballarat was identified "in particular" as an area with a high need for services.
"This injection of resources will help us improve our policing response in the Ballarat and Moorabool areas," he said ahead of an official announcement in Melbourne on Friday.
As well as the family violence specialists, four Highway Patrol officers, one extra crime investigation unit officer, and a crime scene services officer are also on their way. Across the state, 709 officers and 25 protective services officers will be deployed - among them, 207 specialists in family violence.
A third of the officers will be deployed to regional areas.
Data from the Crime Statistics Agency Victoria, released in March, reveal the crime rate per 100,000 people has fallen significantly in the last two years - from 9162.8 incidents in the 12 months to December 2016, to 7524.5 incidents in the 12 months to December 2018.
The number of incidents in the 12 months to December 2016 was 9475, which fell to 8960 in the year to 2017, and 8084 in 2018.
While some numbers for specific incidents have increased, such as assaults and drug possession, others, like theft, have reduced significantly following targeted campaigns.
However, while additional police resources and increased reporting mean more family violence incidents have been recorded, the statistics remain sobering.
In Ballarat, the number of incidents increased 0.5 per cent in the last 12 months, from 1925 incidents in the year to December 2017 to 1934 incidents in the year to December 2018, though the rate per 100,000 people has fallen 1.5 per cent.
Data from Ambulance Victoria also shows 77 call-outs for family violence-related incidents in Ballarat in the 24 months to June 2018.
The overall statistics, when comparing the crime rate per 100,000 people, remain higher than Bendigo and Geelong, at 6699.3 and 6401.7 respectively.
For family violence incidents specifically, the crime rate of 1800.1 per 100,000 people in Ballarat is significantly higher than Bendigo, at 1456.5, and Geelong, at 1335.4.
Ballarat is also experiencing rapid population growth, particularly to the west - having extra police resources available will reduce the strain across town.
According to a Police Media press release, last year the Western Region Division 3 received 14 additional police -10 family violence specialists, three general duties officers, and a crime investigation unit officer.
The allocation was decided by Victoria Police's Staff Allocation Model, which takes into consideration measures of demand like calls for assistance, reported crime, event management and traffic incidents, and the time required.
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