The latest data, released by the Crime Statistics Agency on Thursday, shows the total number of offences recorded in Ballarat in the 12 months to December 2021 have risen slightly.

Calculated per 100,000 population, there were 8939.5 offences recorded to the year ending December 2021 compared to 8769.7 in the year ending December 2020.

It is an increase of around two per cent, though the numbers show the crime rate in Ballarat remains above the Victorian average.

The slight increase comes after the crime rate recorded in Ballarat during 2020 dropped to the lowest level since 2012, though the latest data shows it has remained well below the numbers recorded prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The region's Acting Superintendent, Paul Bertoncello, said taking into account the broader region - including Ballarat, Pyrenees, Moorabool, Hepburn and Golden Plains - there was a "heartening" 2.8 per cent decrease in overall crime.

"While there was a slight increase in overall crime in Ballarat in the last 12 months, it's not surprising given the city is now emerging from the pandemic environment. However, it is extremely positive that we are yet to see a rapid return to pre-pandemic levels of offending," he said.

"The slow increase to the crime rate is a direct result of the early intervention work police are doing in the community, particularly with at-risk young people, to disrupt and deter potential criminal offending."

Of all the offences recorded last year, almost 44 per cent resulted in arrest and summons, while 43.5 per cent remain unsolved.

The vast majority of offences were recorded in Ballarat Central followed by Wendouree and Sebastopol, however offences recorded in all three suburbs decreased from the previous year.

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Meanwhile, the number of offences recorded in Ballarat East increased from 592 to 681.

The top offence sub group listed is theft from motor vehicles, while motor vehicle theft, bicycle theft, stealing from retail stores and burglaries also increased slightly.

Acting Superintendent Bertoncello said police would continue to actively target car thieves with regular patrols and by monitoring recidivist offenders, but the community also had a role to play in vehicle crime prevention.

"While there was a significant increase in theft from vehicle offences compared to the previous year, there was actually around a 20 per cent reduction compared to pre-pandemic levels," he said.

"Despite our continued warnings to community members about protecting themselves from vehicle crime, we are still seeing the majority of thefts from vehicles are occurring when a vehicle is unsecured or unlocked.

"We implore community members to always lock their car and keep valuables out of sight, even if you're just popping into the shops to buy a loaf of bread and some milk."

Other offences, including assaults, sexual offences, stalking and drug offences also decreased from the previous year, as did dangerous driving.

The statistics also show the total number of family violence incidents decreased slightly in Ballarat by about two per cent compared to 2020 - when the total number of incidents recorded peaked as Victorians spent much of the year in lockdowns.

Acting Superintendent Bertoncello said the reduction in family violence-related serious assaults was directly linked to the proactive police work being done in the community to check up on known offenders.

"Every day across the Ballarat region, teams of detectives and uniform officers are knocking on the doors of known family violence offenders, and if they are caught offending or breaching a family violence intervention order, they will be brought before a court," he said.

With the number of recorded incidents per 100,000 population was 1988.5, it remains above the Victorian rate of 1364.7.

Affected family members ranged from babies to those aged over 55, with the largest proportion aged between 25 and 34 and 35 and 44.

Most affected family members were women (1700), though men were also represented (551).

Breaches of family violence order remained high and increased slightly.

Offences in Golden Plains Shire also increased slightly, with breaches of family violence orders and theft also among the top offences recorded.

Though the total number of offences recorded in Hepburn and Moorabool shires decreased significantly, while a decrease was also recorded in Pyrenees.

It comes as the rate of recorded offences per 100,000 Victorians decreased by almost 13 per cent since the previous year, representing the lowest number of criminal offences committed in a calendar year since 2014.

The overall victimisation rate also significantly decreased, with 14,500 less victims of crime than during 2020 and the lowest number of victims of crime since 2010.

Victoria Police's Deputy Commissioner Regional Operations, Rick Nugent, said the "highly unique environment" in Victoria last year contributed to the overall decrease in crime across the state.

"While each victim of crime is one person too many, we are pleased that last year we had the lowest number of victims in Victoria since 2010, with almost 14,500 fewer victims of crime than the year prior.

"While it is likely that overall crime will increase as the community returns to normality, the early signs are relatively positive.

"To date, we have not seen a rapid return across all crime categories, with police intelligence indicating overall offending still remains below pre-pandemic levels.

"It has also been encouraging that the number of first-time offenders across all crime categories has remained consistent with the previous two years.

"We are particularly pleased that first time youth offenders decreased 7.6% in the last year, contributing to a reduction of 35.8% over ten years," he said.

"Every member of Victoria Police is working tirelessly to keep the crime rate as low as possible - whether it's the police officers deployed to your local shopping strip to stop crime from occurring, the police vehicle patrolling your neighbourhood to keep car thieves at bay, or the detectives investigating, arresting and prosecuting offenders, we are doing everything possible to keep you safe."

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