CYMRU NO LONGER CRIME CENTRAL
Recorded rates of burglary, robbery and car crime have all fallen significantly in Wales, according to new figures. They each dropped by 16% in the past year, alongside reduced rates in all recorded crime across Wales. Police recorded crime figures showed crime was lower in Wales than for England and Wales as a whole.
Violence rates in Wales were described as "towards the top of the range," but they were said to be no more than the average for Wales and England combined.
"There was a decrease in the rates of all crime types recorded by the police in Wales"
Joanna Jordan, acting community safety director, Wales
The figures were in two documents released on Thursday - the British Crime Survey (BCS) and police recorded crime figures.
The police figures show the number of offences recorded by the police, while the BCS figures are reached after questioning people about their actual experience of crime.
According to the BCS, crime in England and Wales fell by 7% in the past 12 months.
Meanwhile, police recorded crime for the two countries showed a fall of 6%.
'Reassurance'
The breakdown indicated Wales had the lowest recorded rates of robbery, theft and handling stolen goods, and the lowest burglary rate along with two regions of England.
Detective Chief Superintendent Ray Wise, of Gwent Police, said: "The public of Gwent should wake up this morning reassured that their police force is one of the top performing in the country.
CRIME IN WALES
Source: Home Office
"The figures show, if you commit crime in Gwent, you are more likely to be caught than in virtually any other county in this country.
"The figures really are a testament to our way of policing. We're community-based and proud of it."
North Wales Police Deputy Chief Constable Clive Wolfendale said his force had the highest detection rate for violent crime in England and Wales at 80%, that burglary in the area fell by 35% last year, robbery was down 24% and vehicle crime had fallen by 30%.
"These aren't figures at the margin, these are quite staggering and we are proud of that performance," he added.
Public perception
Mr Wolfendale also said overall crime figures appeared to be rising because changes in recording practices made three years ago were still having an effect.
He also said his force was recording more domestic violence offences, and the handing out of fixed penalty notices for alcohol-related crimes meant a crime was recorded each time.
Within Wales, the highest crime rates were in the South Wales Police and Gwent force areas.
These two together also suffered car crime rates - theft of and from vehicles - above the average for Wales and England.
But vehicle thefts were significantly below the Wales and England average in both the Dyfed-Powys and North Wales Police areas.
The BCS also asked people about the performance of the police. In Wales and England as a whole, 49% felt their local force did an excellent or good job - figures which were similar in Wales.
But in Dyfed-Powys confidence in the police was noticeably higher.
Welsh Republicans believe that policing should be community based. We would like to see a return to 'village bobbies' and community support officers who live in or near their 'patch' and from where they can fully partcipate in the life of the communities they serve. We are opposed to an All Wales force believing that this would bring a centralisation of policing to the detriment of North and Rural Wales.
"A well resourced, fully trained police force at the heart of the neighbourhood is good for crime reduction and good for all law abiding people" comments John Jeffries, WRC spokesperson.
