GLASS and bottle attacks have fallen across Gwent over the past five years, but more than half remain unsolved.

Figures obtained from Gwent Police under the Freedom of Information Act showthere were a total of 291 assaults involving glass or bottles since April 2006:
● 53 in 2006/07
● 74 in 2007/08
● 63 in 2008/09
● 45 in 2009/10,
● 40 in 2010/11
● 16 since April 2011.

Out of those attacks: ● 31 were undetected in 2006/07
● 41 in 2007/08
● 32 in 2008/09
● 26 in 2009/10
● 27 in 2010/11
● 9 since April.

Newport had the most attacks with a total of 124 since April 2006:
● 27 in 2006/07
● 32 in 2007/08
● 31 in 2008/09
● 16 in 2009/10
● 11 in 2010/11
● 7 since April 2011.

There were a total of 75 attacks in Caerphilly:
● 13 in 2006/07
● 14 in 2007/08
● 18 in 2008/09
● 15 in 2009/10
● 11 in 2010/11
● 4 so far this financial year.

In Torfaen there were 34 attacks:
● 5 in 2006/07
● 6 in 2007/08
● 6 in 2008/09
● 6 in 2009/10
● 9 in 2010/11
● 2 so far this year.

Blaenau Gwent had a total of 31 attacks:
● 5 in 2006/07
● 11 in 2007/08
● 2 in 2008/09
● 6 in 2009/10
● 6 in 2010/11
● 1 since April 2011.

Monmouthshire had 27:
● 3 in 2006/07
● 11 in 2007/08
● 6 in 2008/09
● 2 in 2009/10
● 3 in 2010/11
● 2 so far this year.

In February 2007 the Argus launched its Go Plastic campaign, encouraging pubs in Gwent to use plastic drinking vessels in a bid to crack down on glassings.

A Gwent Police spokeswoman said: “The reduction comes at a time when we have, with our partners, been promoting the use of polycarbonate glasses and educating licensed premises about their benefits in helping to reduce the potential for serious incidents and injuries.

“We will continue our efforts, which ultimately aim to ensure that people heading out to bars, pubs and clubs enjoy themselves in a safe and secure environment.”

EDITORIAL COMMENT: Glass attacks fall welcome

WE WELCOME the fact that glass and bottle attacks in Gwent do now seem to be falling after a worrying rise which saw 74 such incidents in just one year in 2007/08.

But it is of concern that more than half of the incidents remain unresolved. According to figures revealed under the Freedom of Information Act, the numbers of these vicious attacks are now declining year on year, which has to be good news.

And credit where credit is due, Gwent Police have invested a lot of time and effort over the past few years in trying to tackle this issue.

It was back in 2007 that we joined forces with them to try to encourage pubs and clubs to change over from serving drinks in glasses to polycarbonate cups.

It does seem that that has had some effect and the trend is definitely heading in the right direction. But there should be no room for complacency.

These are unforgivable crimes which often leave victims with devastating scars for the rest of their lives.

Maybe the good work done already needs to be joined by a focus on making sure that those responsible are caught and dealt with as harshly as possible.