Crime ‘rise’ due to better recording, says police commissioner

Jeff Cuthbert said the increase between the year to December 2015 and the year to December 2016 is due instead to “a continuous improvement in the recording of crime”.

And he praised the soon-to-retire chief constable Jeff Farrar’s “strong leadership on ethical crime recording”.

Figures for England and Wales, from the Office for National Statistics, show that in the year to December 2016, 39,609 crimes were recorded in Gwent.

Recorded incidents of violence against the person were up 14 per cent, with violence with injury and violence without injury up five per cent and 20 per cent respectively.

Sexual offences fell by eight per cent, robbery was up 17 per cent, and drugs offences were down 25 per cent.

Of the overall figures, Mr Cuthbert said: “It is important to reassure members of the public that this is not an increase in crime but a continuous improvement in the recording of crime.

“As the former National Policing Lead for Crime Statistics until recently, Jeff Farrar, should be praised for his strong leadership on ethical crime recording and his efforts in securing crime data integrity across England and Wales.

“This is something he has firmly embedded within the culture at Gwent Police.

“The increase in recorded crime in Gwent is by no means an anomaly and is a pattern replicated across the majority of police forces in England and Wales.”

He added that increases in violent crime could be down to victims having improved confidence to report these crimes “and knowing they will get access to the right support in Gwent.”

“I note a significant decrease of 25 per cent in relation to drug offences recorded in Gwent,” he said.

“However, as the two major drug raids conducted by the Force recently demonstrate, this is an area we are tackling head on.

“As I have said previously, it is the quality of the data we have at our fingertips that’s important, not the quantity.”