OFFENCES of violence committed against a person rose by 20 per cent in Gwent from last year, official statistics have revealed.

Data from the Office of National Statistics published yesterday showed that “violence against a person” offences have risen by 20 per cent compared to last year, and theft from a person in Gwent has gone up 27 per cent.

Violent crimes recorded by police have jumped to the highest level since a national standard for logging offences was rolled out 14 years ago.

In Gwent, the total amount of recorded crime (excluding fraud), was up three per cent on last year, and “violence without injury” offences was up by 41 per cent.

However, “violence with injury” offences fell by four per cent and bicycle thefts fell 30 percent.

The statistics also revealed rises in the number of crimes involving firearms and knives registered by forces in England and Wales.

Statisticians said the trend was thought to largely reflect factors other than a rise in actual levels of violence - but there were "genuine" increases in some categories.

John Flatley, of the Office for National Statistics, said: "Violent crime covers a wide spectrum, from minor assaults, harassment and abuse that result in no physical harm to the victim, through to incidents of wounding and murder."

He said the latest figures present a "complex picture", with the Crime Survey for England and Wales estimating similar levels of violent crime to recent years but the number of offences recorded by the police increasing.

Police recorded almost 30,000 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument, up by 9 per cent on the previous 12 months, although there has been a general downward trend over the longer term.

Offences involving firearms in the latest year rose by 7 per cent to 5,244. And offences involving weapons in Gwent were up by 8 per cent.

National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for crime and incident recording chief constable Jeff Farrar said:

“The statistics show that levels of crime reported through the Crime Survey of England and Wales have remained stable at the lowest levels since surveys began in 1981.

“That said, the addition of fraud and computer misuse offence in the next ONS bulletin are likely to significantly increase these headline figures and demonstrate the changing nature of crime; we are developing new tactics and capabilities to catch these offenders and help people to protect themselves online.

"We are not complacent about any crime rises, even if analysis suggests changes to recording and reporting are behind these figures.

“The departure from the use of police recorded crime statistics as a single measure of police performance and quality of service to the public has been a positive step.”