Campaspe Shire has seen a 1.6 per cent fall in reported criminal incidents for the year, but Echuca has not fared so well.
Figures from the Crime Statistics Agency showed there were 2467 total crime incidents reported in the shire this year, down from 2508 last year and 2571 in 2020.
While Campaspe as a region recorded less crime than in the previous year, Echuca experienced a rise.
Campaspe police received 1441 reports of crime in Echuca this year, 71 more than in the preceding year, which reached a total of 1370.
Kyabram, Rochester, Rushworth and Tongala received fewer crime reports this year — with Kyabram sitting at 431 (449 in 2021), Rochester at 137 (165 in 2021), Rushworth at 71 (73 in 2021) and Tongala at 56 (91 in 2021).
Across the shire, criminal damage was reported as the most common offence, followed by breach of family violence orders, theft from a motor vehicle, other theft and breach of bail conditions.
Most crimes were reported as occurring at a household.
Of the crimes reported, 37 per cent resulted in charges being laid, 18.1 per cent had no charges laid and 44.8 per cent remained unsolved.
The statistics show there were 938 alleged male offenders and 252 alleged female offenders in Campaspe this year.
The top five age categories of alleged perpetrators were 30-34 with 191 people, 45+ with 188, 25-29 with 183, 18-24 with 170 and 10-17 with 151.
While family violence related incidents decreased in Victoria, family violence in Campaspe was up 3.8 per cent on last year, with 867 reports this year compared to 835 in 2021.
Data revealed there were 662 females and 205 males who reported family violence.
The most affected age group by family violence were 25-34-year-olds with 207 reports, followed by 35-44 with 197 and 18-24 with 140.
Throughout Victoria, there were 474,446 criminal offences recorded, a 4.3 per cent decrease from the same period in 2021 and the lowest number since 2014.
While the vast majority of criminal offences remained at low levels, there were a couple of categories that did increase, including overall assault offences by 491 when compared to last year and dangerous and negligent acts endangering people, which was up by 405 offences from the previous year.
Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Regional Operations Rick Nugent said it was pleasing to see total crime in the state down on previous years.
“While we anticipate overall crime will increase gradually as we move further away from the pandemic, Victoria Police will be doing everything we can to keep crime as low as possible,” he said.
“A significant degree of proactive enforcement occurs each and every day to keep the community safe and prevent offending before it occurs.
“Ensuring members of the community feel safe in their homes is critical for Victoria Police, and working alongside our partners, we will continue to have a strong focus on reducing the harm caused by family violence.”