Breaches of public health orders and a spike in family violence have laid bare the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Victorian crime.
Crime Statistics Agency figures for 2020, released on Thursday, show recorded offences increased overall by 2.3 per cent.
There were 37,505 breaches of the Chief Health Officer's orders, with most from April to October as Melbourne and Victoria endured lockdowns.
While the pandemic caused some offences to drop sharply, there were significant jumps in other areas.
Family incidents increased 9.4 per cent to 92,521, the highest number on record.
But Acting Police Minister Danny Pearson and Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Rick Nugent said it would have been worse without Operation Ribbon.
The police initiative was launched in April, anticipating the added family stresses that the pandemic would cause.
"I'm deeply saddened that so many in our community experience that (family violence)," Mr Pearson said.
"But ... if it wasn't for Operation Ribbon, how much worse would it have been."
Mr Nugent said with people restricted to their homes during the lockdowns, they might not have access to support.
"As a result we were very, very proactive with Operation Ribbon and other policing activities to ensure we did all we could to keep them safe - and as a result, we did see increases in family violence orders," he said.
Drug offences were also up by 20 per cent last year and there was a 10.2 per cent rise in sex offences.
But property and deception offences fell 12.1 per cent.
The covid fines proved controversial, with accusations of heavy-handed and inconsistent policing but Acting Premier James Merlino backed the force.
"They use their judgment in terms of whether they issue fines or whether they provide a warning to citizens if they're doing the wrong thing. I completely back Victoria Police," he said.
Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien said the overall 2.3 per cent increase was "extraordinary".
"You would have thought that in the year 2020, when Victorians were largely locked down, that crime would have fallen," he said.
"It just shows you that the government doesn't have a plan in place to try and keep Victorians safe.
"We have sadly now seen a really significant increase in family violence. Where is the government's support to try and reduce that going forward?"
