The Melbourne suburbs where burglaries are most violent

Victoria's crime rate has risen again, however less than in previous years, prompting the police minister to make the bold claim that the state's law and order problem could soon be over.

The total number of offences recorded in Victoria has risen 4 per cent in the past year, the latest crime figures show.

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Adjusted for population, however, the rise was 2.5 per cent.

It shows there's been a vast improvement since last year, when the overall crime rate recorded a spike of 10 per cent.

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Aggravated burglary is still a problem, jumping 28 per cent year on year.

Police say they have noticed a recent downturn, with an increase of less than 1 per cent since December. 

But overall, burglaries are getting more violent. About one in 12 burglaries across Melbourne involve violence.

Caulfield recorded the highest proportion of violent break-ins, with 26 per cent of the 164 burglaries there involving violent entry.

In Frankston, Berwick and Pakenham, more than 11 per cent of burglaries were aggravated.

And in Ascot Vale and Brunswick, more than 15 per cent of burglaries involved violent entry. 

Note that the data is for April 2016 – March 2017. Click or hover your cursor over an area for a detailed breakdown of the burglaries figures.

Ballarat recorded the biggest increase in aggravated burglaries with 134, 50 more than the same period last year. The area also has among the highest proportion of violent break-ins, with one in five burglaries being flagged as aggravated.

Yet, police minister Lisa Neville said the latest figures showed the crime rate was heading in the "right direction" and that the trend would continue next time around. 

Law and order has been a significant problem for the state government, with particular community concern around parole, bail and youth offending. 

"I'm pretty confident that based on intelligence that we will be in a position of zero growth in the next crime stats, if not negative," she said.

"You will probably hold that against me if it doesn't happen but I'm pretty confident talking to local police that that is the situation, that we're going to continue this downward trend."

The claim represents a significant change in tone from the last crime statistics release, when Ms Neville said Victorians did not feel safe in their homes. 

"I want people to feel safe in their homes and their communities. The war on this is not over, we're getting on top of this but we've got a long way to go," she said in March. 

Ms Neville conceded that Victorians may not believe the crime situation is improving when they see reports of terrifying home invasions and armed robberies. 

"It's heading in the right way, but that's not to say I don't understand that people are fearful, they still are concerned about what they see and read about," she said. 

Despite the minister's comments, carjacking victim Avondale Heights man Michael Tallal said Victorians were still fearful of being the target of violent crime. 

"I don't feel safe anymore, I feel like the government, and especially the judiciary, they're letting the people down," he said.

"The police are doing their jobs, the courts are letting them back on the street within hours."

Mr Tallal was carjacked in Toorak in April last year after another car hit his Mercedes Benz from behind. A group of men then got out of the car and attacked him with baseball bats before speeding off in his luxury vehicle. 

Asked to explain the long-term effects of crime, Mr Tallal remembered a recent incident when he was getting into his car after a friend's birthday party and a person approached his car. 

The person thought Mr Tallal was an Uber driver but it brought back flashbacks of his terrifying experience. 

"I had a full panic attack, I had to drive off," he said. 

He said that even if the crime rate stays stable, Victorians still believed that criminals were reoffending "again and again and again".

"They know there is no consequences to their actions," he said. 

"Just because they might not see an increase in the crime rate it doesn't mean it's safer, it just means it's the same as it was before. It's a lot higher than it was five years ago.

"We've already gone past the limit that we can tolerate."

Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said the government had "no answer" for violent crime.

"Our state's violent crime is still on an upward trend," he said.

Mr Guy reiterated his call to introduce mandatory sentencing for several offences. 

Theft of a car and theft from a car both spiked again, up 16.6 per cent and 16.2 per cent respectfully. 

Murder (up 27.8 per cent) and attempted murder (up 67.3 per cent) both recorded significant increases, with the Bourke Street rampage considered the major factor behind the spike. 

The rate of family incidents in Victoria has stabilised, increasing by 0.1 per cent, compared to the previous year when the rate increased by 8 per cent.