Gwent sees biggest fall in crime across England and Wales again

3:31pm Thursday 24th January 2013 in News Photograph of the Author By David Deans, Reporter

TACKLING CRIME: Gwent Police officers on duty in Newport city centre TACKLING CRIME: Gwent Police officers on duty in Newport city centre

GWENT Police has reported the largest fall in recorded crime in England and Wales yet again.

New figures have been released for the 12 months to September 2012 show the number of crimes recorded by police fell by 20 per cent compared to the previous 12 months.

There were 8,492 fewer crimes, or around 22 fewer crimes per day.

It is the fifth quarter in a row that Gwent Police has seen the largest or joint largest fall in overall crime, year-on-year.

The only category of crime to see an increase was drug offences, where there was a 12 per cent increase from 2,465 to 2,767.

The largest percentage decrease was seen in fraud and forgery crimes with the number of incidents falling by more than half, from 1,259 to 549.

The number of violent incidents which resulted in injury dropped by 27 per cent from 4,278 to 3,128 crimes, while burglaries fell by a quarter to 4,838 from 6,409.

Offences against vehicles fell by almost a third from 5,602 to 3,867, while 108 fewer sexual offence incidents were recorded; down from 590 to 482.

Assistant Chief Constable Simon Prince attributed the falls to a "relentless focus" on persistent offenders as well as work on neighbourhood policing.

"Their job is to build relationships with people so they are confident to tell them what's going on in their communities," he said.

Mr Prince added: "The more we reduce crime clearly the more challenging that work becomes. We are confident that the next time these figures are published we will see a continued reduction in crime."

Gwent Police and Crime Commissioner Ian Johnston said: “The figures published today are welcome news and I congratulate the Chief Constable and her team for their hard work and dedication."

Police records ‘overstate’ crime fall – Statistics office POLICE records across England and Wales are overstating the rate that crime is falling, according to the Office of National Statistics.

The ONS, which is based in Newport and compiled yesterday's crime figures, said police recorded crime in England and Wales fell by 41 per cent since 2002/03.

But the Crime Survey for England and Wales, which records households’ experience of crime, saw a 26 per cent fall over the same period.

The ONS said police records appear to "overstate the true rate in which crime has been falling”.

Mr Prince said he could see was no evidence there was anything the force was doing to paint a false picture.

"We haven't changed any of our processes that would mean that we weren't recording as many crimes as we previous were," he said.

Gwent sees biggest fall in crime across England and Wales again

Comments(15)

Dai the Milk says...
3:43pm Thu 24 Jan 13

There is a fall in the number of crimes people choose to report and therefore have recorded......there are many reasons for that.
That is not the same as saying less crimes have been committed.

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Markbusa says...
3:54pm Thu 24 Jan 13

http://www.bbc.co.uk
/news/uk-21178847

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gingertom says...
4:59pm Thu 24 Jan 13

well this is absolute tripe and it has been reported as so today.
Perhaps people need to air their views:

Gwent Police and Crime Commissioner Ian Johnston is inviting residents to have their say on policing.

As part of his responsibilities the commissioner must creat Police and Crime Plan which will shape how policing priorities and criminal justice will be achieved across Gwent.

A draft copy of the plan has been produced based on feedback and comments previously provided by residents and organisations.

Mr Johnston said: “Throughout 2012, the Police Authority consulted with the public and strategic partners on the proposed police and crime priorities and the results have been used in the production of the first draft police and crime plan for Gwent.

“I believe it is important that local residents have the chance to tell me what they think of the draft plan. This can be downloaded from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner website or residents can contact my office to request a hard copy.”

“As I outlined during my election campaign I’m fully committed to delivering an excellent policing service that Gwent residents can be proud of and one which puts victims at the centre.

To download a copy of the Gwent Police and Crime plan visit http://www.gwent.pcc
.police.uk/about-us/
publications/police-
and-crime-plan-2013-
2017/

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spanner100 says...
5:01pm Thu 24 Jan 13

False figures again!. Reported Crime down YES YES YES. Thats because unless the Crime is serious people only bother to report it if they need a "Crime reference number" for Insurance purposes. With the cutbacks the lack of Police response will become worse.

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richie55 says...
5:46pm Thu 24 Jan 13

There are no police stations open to go and report a crime!

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Dave on his Soapbox says...
6:37pm Thu 24 Jan 13

...."relentless focus" on persistent offenders....but are they being put behind bars?

.....as we know the vast majority of people respect other people and their property....

....it's a pity others won't or can't understand we're all different....and treating everyone as though we're all the same doesn't work...

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blackandamber says...
6:48pm Thu 24 Jan 13

Is anybody guilty of anything any more ?
It doesn't seem like it. Three strikes and your out LOL

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Anne teak says...
10:47pm Thu 24 Jan 13

The only people to believe there's less crime are those who have never tried to report one.

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gingertom says...
10:53am Fri 25 Jan 13

This really beggars belief. Drug related crime is up. You never see a police officer and if you ring their mobile you get the answerphone. Police stations that are never manned and being closed.
PACT and Partnership meetings are never advertised via posters in the shops in newbridge. The general public have been doing this themselves. It just shows the level of disinterest. It really is not good enough.

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blackandamber says...
11:15am Fri 25 Jan 13

Crime figures are down because people just don't bother to report minor crimes. It's not all the fault of the police in many ways but of weak, but I suspect largely hamstrung judiciary who will not or cannot let the punishment fit the crime.

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spanner100 says...
11:22am Fri 25 Jan 13

Take note Mr. GWENT POLICE and CRIME COMMISSIONER...What a surprise the good people of "Gwent" Policing area are NOT AT ALL chuffed with the not interested Policing in the Area!!.

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Adrian Williams says...
2:14pm Fri 25 Jan 13

Good news and yet the good people on the Argus website do what they enjoy most - moan

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The Red Claw says...
3:56pm Fri 25 Jan 13

All British Police forces are being assessed by the government, through the Home Office, on their ability to reduce crime. People should note that when they report what they think is a crime to the police, the police can, in some circumstances, get to choose whether to actually record a crime or not. If the matter is on the serious side then they have little choice but to record it as such anyway. When it comes to petty everyday crime however, the police have far more leeway, and can interpret an occurrence in several different ways, some of which may not necessarily be counted as ‘crime’ by the Home Office. The Home Office knows this and, as they are being judged on similar criteria by the government, fully accepts the situation.

For the immediate moment Gwent Police management can indulge itself in what it would regard as a well deserved bout of back slapping. I would urge some caution though, as the message that the Home office and government is consistently now getting, is that by implementing significant budget cuts, getting rid of some of the workforce and closing down police stations etc, you can drastically reduce reported crime, which is all that currently matters to the politically minded in London, who are already busy planning the next election. The citizens of Gwent may yet reap some unexpected consequences of this ‘success story’ in the not so distant future. What politician would give Gwent Police any additional funding for instance, when it is clearly managing so very well on its lonesome despite fairly severe budget cuts!

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The_Vulcan says...
4:04pm Fri 25 Jan 13

The fall in crime rates are because people are not reporting the crimes because they know they will get a pathetic response from Gwent Police.

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The Red Claw says...
8:57am Sat 26 Jan 13

Adrian, you appear to actually believe these figures and have totally discounted the possibility that they have been manipulated and massaged at some stage during the process. Give my regards to the Unicorn, Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster when you see them next.

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