In the 12 months from July, 1 2009, crime in the Bendigo police region has decreased by 3.2 per cent.

Assaults have decreased by 10.9 per cent, with theft from motor vehicles down by 2.6 per cent and theft of motor vehicles down by 39 per cent.

Victoria Police crime statistics also show that drug offences and crime against property have fallen.

However, the annual statistics, released yesterday, show that crimes against the person have increased by more than eight per cent.Robberies have increased by 36.5 per cent.

Inspector Gerry Rudkins said a number of robberies occurred in and around the CBD and generally occurred at night.

He said a new police unit, called the Tasking Unit, was working to tackle the problem and the offenders suspected of being responsible for these and other crimes.

“We suspect the offenders responsible for the robberies are also responsible for some of the thefts of and from motor vehicles,’’ he said in a statement on the Victoria Police website.

In targeting these suspects, the Bendigo PSA Tasking Unit has been successful in arresting and charging numerous offenders. This has caused a decrease in our theft of motor vehicle offences by 39 per cent and a 2.6 per cent reduction in theft from motor vehicle figures.’’

Inspector Rudkins said Bendigo police were working hard to drive down crime figures in the region and thanked the community for it’s support in providing police with information and assistance in helping solve local crime.

Police Minister Bob Cameron yesterday praised the hard work being done by Victoria Police’s frontline officers, and said Victoria now had the lowest crime rate since electronic recording was introduced in 1993.

Across the state the total crime rate decreased for the ninth consecutive year, with a 6.4 per cent drop in 2009/2010.

The overall crime rate has now fallen 29.9 per cent since 2000/2001, measured as a rate per 100,000 population.

Victoria Police also solved more crime than ever last financial year, achieving a clearance rate of 46.3 per cent, 0.2 per cent higher than the previous year.

“While we acknowledge there is always more to do to tackle crime in society, the Brumby Labor Government continues taking action to help Victoria Police meet the challenge of protecting the community and making our streets safer, through record funding and record resourcing,” Mr Cameron said.