If you're going to become a victim of crime this summer — and we sincerely hope you don't — chances are it will be someone stealing from your car.

Property offences were the most common crime in Victoria over the past 12 months and theft from motor vehicles was the biggest component of that.

But it remains a sad truth that the most common crimes are also the ones least likely to be solved.

Victoria's total crime rate measured as incidents per 100,000 people rose 1.6 per cent over the 12 months to September, halting a three-year downward slide as police recorded an extra 14,367 incidents compared to the same period the previous year.

Crimes were up in all categories except for public order and security offences, though the headline rate remained below 2016 and 2017 levels.

The largest category, property-related offences, saw an uptick thanks to a rise in total thefts, which were up 6.6 per cent over the year to reach a total 143,511 incidents. Rates of theft per 100,000 people rose 4.4 per cent.

Theft most likely from motor vehicles

Cars were the most likely places to have items snatched, with Victorians reporting 53,831 incidents of theft from a motor vehicle in the last 12 months.

Total incidents were up 5.5 per cent, while the rate rose by 3.3 per cent.

Reservoir remained Victoria's unluckiest suburb for this type of crime, with 671 incidents recorded, followed by the suburbs of Dandenong, Frankston and Preston.

Boronia, Seaford, Malvern East, Glen Iris and Shepparton recorded the biggest jumps, with at least 100 additional incidents compared to the same time the previous year.

Reservoir, in Melbourne's north, had more reports of thefts from vehicles than any other suburb. ( ABC News: Stephanie Anderson )

It has prompted police to remind Victorians to lock their cars to avoid having phones and tradie tools stolen.

Overall rates of stealing from motor vehicles were still 18.8 per cent lower than in 2016, when a whopping 62,084 incidents were recorded.

Melbourne's worst suburbs for thefts from motor vehicles

Suburb Reported thefts from cars Reservoir 671 Dandenong 611 Frankston 605 Preston 565 Melbourne 545 Richmond 488 Craigieburn 447 Shepparton 428 St Albans 425 Epping 409

Shoplifting on the rise

Shopkeepers suffered in 2019 as retail theft spiked by 13.8 per cent from last year, to reach 20,817 incidents.

The rate also climbed 11.5 per cent over the year to its highest level since 2014.

Australian Retailers Association executive director Russell Zimmerman said retailers were concerned about rising theft in Victoria, and that this was not just due to more people reporting crimes.

But he said retailers across the country were more concerned by a "huge influx" in more aggressive crimes, including where staff were assaulted or threatened with violence.

There were more than 20,000 retail thefts reported in Victoria. ( ABC News: Hayley Roman, file photo )

Mr Zimmerman said thieves were "going to great lengths" to steal.

"They might want to get a mobile phone or a tablet or whatever and they'll rip them out of the wall," he said.

In Victoria, retailers were responding by spending more on security guards, CCTV and security tags.

Supermarkets were also taking extra steps, such as turning on self-checkout scales where previously they may have not.

The September figures also show deception-related thefts, such as credit card fraud, continued to trend upwards, with rates per 100,000 rising 8.3 per cent over the year.

Bike thefts reach a new record

It was another expensive year for Victorian cyclists, with 6,923 bicycles lost to theft.

Bike theft incidents were up 10.7 per cent on the previous year, hitting a new record.

There were 6,923 bicycle thefts in Victoria in the 12 months to September. ( ABC Local: Margaret Burin )

Although rates per 100,000 people were higher in 2016, they have since risen year on year.

Downtown Melbourne remained the riskiest place to leave your bike, followed by Brunswick, Parkville and Southbank.

Bike theft hotspots

Suburb Reported bike theft Melbourne 578 Brunswick 190 Parkville 153 Southbank 150 Richmond 126 Carlton 119 St Kilda 119 Fitzroy 116 Northcote 110 South Yarra 102

Victoria's Police Minister Lisa Neville said the rise in recorded thefts was "absolutely" connected to the establishment of the police assistance line in July 2019, which she said had added around 23,000 theft incidents.

"It's not only freed up 50,000 frontline police hours, but it is actually providing people with a new opportunity to report crime that they previously had not reported," she said, noting police expected rates to grow further before stabilising.

Whether it leads to more cases being solved remains to be seen, however.

According to the September data, incidents of bike thefts and stealing from motor vehicles remained, respectively, the two crimes least likely to be solved (in 2019, respectively just 7 per cent and 8 per cent of cases were solved).

'Concerning trend' in robberies

The number of aggravated robberies was up 24.3 per cent — the rate growing by 21.9 per cent as police recorded an extra 524 incidents.

Ms Neville said a "concerning trend" in robberies was being fuelled by children aged between 10 and 17 stealing shoes, phones and wallets from other kids, but stressed those committing these crimes were only a small group.

There was also a 9.8 per cent rise in drug offences, with the rate growing by 7.6 per cent.

Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton said the rise in recorded incidents for these offences was a positive outcome that showed police were detecting more crimes.

"That's about proactive policing," he said.

Family violence rates triple in a decade

Reported incidents of common assault are also on the rise, and particularly so for family violence, for which rates have more than tripled over the decade and jumped 9.3 per cent since 2018.

Meanwhile, successive years have seen rates of serious assault falling away for both family-related violence (down 1.7 per cent in 2019) and non-family-related violence (down 4 per cent).

Police recorded an increase in breaches of family violence orders, with incidents up 8 per cent and rates rising by 5.8 per cent.

Ms Neville said family violence across Victoria remained "a massive law and order issue" but attributed the increase in family violence order breaches to police work.

In the last 12 months, she said, police "have processed more people than they have ever processed in their life".

The number of bail condition breaches fell by 3.4 per cent, with 600 fewer breaches than the previous year. The rate dropped by 5.4 per cent to its lowest level since 2014.