Released on Thursday, March 17, the new data contains Victoria's crime statistics for the year ending in December 2021.

The total number of criminal incidents in Ararat decreased by 7.4 per cent from December 2020 to 2021, with 80 less crimes committed in 2021 compared to the same period in 2020.

Of the region's criminal incidents, 51.6 per cent resulted in charges being laid, 23.2 per cent resulted in no charges and 25.2 remained unsolved.

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Criminal damage was the most common type of offence, followed by breaching bail conditions, theft and breaching a family violence order.

The majority of crimes occurred in Ararat itself, with 890 of the total criminal incidents. Elsewhere, Lake Bolac saw 26 criminal incidents, Willaura saw 14, Buangor saw 13 and Moyston saw 11.

Most offending occurred either in a household, with 266 incidents, or on the street, with 189 incidents.

Across the state, the rate of recorded offences decreased 12.6 per cent in the past 12 months.

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

Victoria Police deputy commissioner for regional operations Rick Nugent said a "highly-unique environment" in Victorian contributed to the overall decrease in crime.

"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," he said.

"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."

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