A Victoria Police officer who kicked a woman in custody has defended his actions, telling an anti-corruption inquiry it was a knee-jerk reaction because he was in a "prime position" to get hurt.

Key points: 51-year-old woman held for 16 hours for public intoxication

51-year-old woman held for 16 hours for public intoxication Footage shows police kicking the woman and using pepper spray

Footage shows police kicking the woman and using pepper spray Accused officer says he feared he may be injured by woman

Senior Constable Steven Repac appeared at the Independent Broad-Based Anti-Corruption Commission [IBAC] hearing into multiple allegations of brutality by police officers in Ballarat.

Senior Constable Repac was on night shift on January 14 last year when a 51-year-old woman was taken into custody for being drunk in public.

Police said the woman was "aggressive and abusive" and she was pepper-sprayed after taking a senior officer's lanyard during a scuffle.

The woman was taken back to her cell where she lay facedown with her pants off while handcuffed.

Security footage showed Senior Constable Repac standing on the woman's bare legs. He told the inquiry he weighed about 95 kilograms.

"She was quite aggressive in her tone and her language. I was in a prime position to get kicked," he told the hearing.

'People don't get foamed for no reason': Officer

The inquiry was then played vision which showed Senior Constable Repac kicking the woman.

IBAC is investigating allegations of misconduct by Ballarat police. ( ABC News )

He told the inquiry it was "knee-jerk reaction", but counsel assisting Jack Rush QC took issue with the comment.

"You kicked her deliberately. You didn't have to stomp on her legs," Mr Rush said.

But Senior Constable Repac denied kicking the woman deliberately, telling the inquiry he was concerned the woman could have injured him and other police.

"I wasn't going to take any chances," he said.

"People don't get foamed for no reason."

The commission was told the woman was held for about 16 hours, despite being told she would be released in four hours.

The woman was eventually put into a shower and was in custody for eight hours before receiving a blanket, the hearing was told.

Officers 'three times more likely to have assault complaints'

Earlier, the inquiry heard Ballarat police were three times more likely to be the subject of assault complaints than officers in similar stations in Melbourne.

In his opening address, Mr Rush QC told IBAC there was a high incidence of complaints in the Ballarat policing area in 2012.

The most frequent complaint alleged a failure of duty.

Statistics showed Ballarat had a higher ratio of members with allegations recorded against them than police in Frankston, in Melbourne's outer-east.

"It's three times the average of comparable stations," Mr Rush said.

The inquiry continues.