WIMMERA police acting superintendent Paul Bertoncello says a decrease in recorded family violence incidents is not necessarily something to be happy about.
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The latest Crime Statistics Agency of Victoria figures show the overall number of such incidents dropped for a fifth consecutive year in Horsham.
Overall, the city's police recorded 473 incidents in 2019.
"When we see decreases, it's usually because we have had some high levels of recidivism," he said.
"Because we've got dedicated family violence units that target those repeat offenders, there then also tends to be an increase in the number of breaches of family violence orders reported.
"Family violence remains a massive issue - there is no doubt about that, and we as an organisation are looking to see increases in family violence, like we've had in Ararat in the last three months, above the state average.
"In 2019 it had quite a rise, and we need a bit of time to delve into why."
In Ararat Rural City, the number of recorded family violence incidents in 2019 was 268, 42 higher than in the previous year.
Acting superintendent Bertoncello said "crime themes" would become of greater concern to Wimmera police as the coronavirus pandemic continued.
"Much like you'd see in drought time when unemployment increases or there are other stresses - we know in those tough times there is an increase in family violence," he said.
"We will work with our agency partners to make sure we are on top of that."
"The advice at the moment would be the same. If you see something or have a concern about someone being exposed to family violence, you should engage with police or ring Crime Stoppers, go to support agencies or talk to health providers."
Acting superintendent Bertoncello said police were asking residents with symptoms of COVID-19 not to come to police stations.
The CSAV data showed in Horsham Rural City, nearly thee quarters of those affected by family violence were women, and just under half were between 25 and 44 years old.
The total number of dropped significantly in 2019, down 16.1 per cent to 1323, the lowest amount since 2013.
This was led by decreases in criminal damage and breach of bail conditions.
Acting superintendent Bertoncello said it was a "positive" result.
"That's as much attributable to the community working with us to reduce crime as it is anything police have done specifically," he said.
For help with sexual assault, domestic and family violence, contact 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732.
In an emergency, call 000.
Alexander Darling
Alexander has been a member of the Wimmera Mail-Times' editorial team since December 2018, covering politics, business and property among other rounds. He is a passionate St.Kilda and rock and roll fan, and has previously worked as a radio reporter in Port Macquarie and Gosford, NSW.
Alexander has been a member of the Wimmera Mail-Times' editorial team since December 2018, covering politics, business and property among other rounds. He is a passionate St.Kilda and rock and roll fan, and has previously worked as a radio reporter in Port Macquarie and Gosford, NSW.
