CRIME has increased by more than five per cent in Gwent in the last year, according to new figures released today.

Figures released in the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) show that police recorded 36,826 crimes in Gwent in 2014 an increase from 34,984 crimes in 2013. The survey released by the Office For National Statistics shows nearly a seven per cent decrease in crime in the UK in 2014 from the previous year.

They say this is the lowest estimate since the CSEW began in 1981. Crimes recorded by the police in Wales increased by 4.33 per cent from 2013 to 2014.

The number of violent crimes against a person increased in Gwent in 2013 by 16 per cent from 6,843 to 7,944. The amount of crimes involving violence with injury increased by 6.5 per cent from 3,666 to 3,905.

The number of crimes involving violence without injury increased by more than 27 per cent from 3,173 to 4,034. The amount of sexual offences recorded in Gwent increased by 21 per cent from 571 in 2013 to 723 in 2014.

The crimes which saw the biggest decrease in Gwent were possession of weapons offences by 8.3 per cent and robbery by 6.9 per cent. Drug offences decreased from 2,145 in 2013 to 1, 803 in 2014.