Latest Victoria Police statistics revealed drug offences increased by more than 60 per cent in the Warrnambool region during the 2009 calendar year, with Corangamite and Southern Grampians regions rising by 21 and 26 per cent respectively.

Acting Inspector Paul Hargreaves said the spike was due to a concerted effort by police to clamp down on drug crime in the south-west.

“The increase is more about detection rather than an increase in actual drug crime,” the region’s acting top officer said.

“We have been operating plain clothes divisions and boosting our overall operations to produce a proactive result in that area.

“The blitzes we conducted were widely publicised and the prosecution that followed it but there is also a lot of work put in in the lead-up to those operations.”

Total crime statistics in the south-west during 2009 were inconsistent, with a seven per cent decrease in the Southern Grampians but an 18 per cent increase in the Corangamite region.

Warrnambool region’s total crime count remained close to unchanged with an increase of less than one per cent.

There was a 69 per cent increase in robbery offences in 2009 in the Warrnambool region and a 49 per cent jump in the Corangamite region. The Southern Grampians region was relatively unchanged.

Acting Inspector Hargreaves said robbery offences were generally low in the region and any increase was likely to inflate crime statistics.

Major robberies in the region last year included a hold-up at Port Fairy’s IGA supermarket and the nearby Leske’s Jewellers.

“Robbery works off quite a low base so any cases mean there is always a percentage spike,” Acting Inspector Hargreaves said.

“Bearing that in mind, the rise is not a concerning trend.’’

Assaults fell by nine per cent in the Warrnambool region last year after a four per cent increase in 2008. The Southern Grampians and Corangamite regions also notched up similar falls in assault cases.

Acting Inspector Hargreaves said the majority of assault offences were influenced by alcohol and occurred in the city late in the evening.

He said police in Warrnambool, Hamilton, Portland and Colac had responded to community concern over alcohol-related violence and stepped up their presence on city streets.

“We have worked with venue operators over the sale of high-strength shots and drinks as well as alcohol consumption to make sure there are less alcohol-related assaults on our streets,” he said.