The Welsh police force area with some of the highest rates of violent crime in the UK has been revealed in new figures.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has compiled crime statistics per 1,000 people for police force areas across England and Wales, leading up to June, 2021.
The figures show that North Wales ranked in the top 10 in the UK for rates of violence against the person and sexual offences. Within Wales, Gwent and North Wales took the top spots for highest rates of crime overall, with 82.2 and 81.3 total crimes per 1,000 people respectively. You can read more crime stories here.
Read more: Worst areas for sex and violent crime in Cardiff, Swansea and Newport
In the report, North Wales was ranked eighth in the UK when it came to reports of violence against the person. North Wales Police declined to comment on the figures.
The figure shows the rate per 1,000 people in police force areas:
1. West Yorkshire: 47.4
2. West Midlands: 46.8
3. Cleveland: 44.5
4. Kent: 42.7
5. Greater Manchester: 40
6. Durham: 39.6
7. Merseyside: 38.8
8. North Wales: 38.8
9. Chesire: 37.9
10. Humberside: 37.4
(Source: ONS. Reported figures per 1,000 people in the area over a one-year period, ending June, 2021)
North Wales also ranked in the UK's top 10 for sex crimes, as the figure shows:
1. Cleveland: 3.7
2. Greater Manchester: 3.6
3. Northamptonshire: 3.6
4. West Yorkshire: 3.5
5. West Midlands: 3.3
6. Kent: 3.3
7. Leicestershire: 3.3
8. Suffolk: 3.1
9. Humberside: 3.1
10. North Wales: 3.1
(Source: ONS. Reported figures per 1,000 people in the area over a one-year period, ending June 2021)
The figures across all four police forces in Wales
Compared with the rest of England, rates of crime in Wales are fairly low, but there is quite a difference between the areas within Wales.
Total crimes per 1000 people
Dyfed-Powys: 68.7
Gwent: 82.2
North Wales: 81.3
South Wales: 74.1
In terms of number of offences, this translates to:
Dyfed-Powys: 35,907
Gwent: 49,146
North Wales: 57,160
South Wales: 99,708
Violence
Violence against the person per 1000 people:
Dyfed-Powys: 33.3
Gwent: 31.5
North Wales: 38.8
South Wales: 27.8
In terms of number of offences, this translates to:
Dyfed-Powys: 17,393
Gwent: 18,816
North Wales: 27,304
South Wales: 37,383
Violence with injury per 1000 people:
Dyfed-Powys: 6.3
Gwent: 8.1
North Wales: 8.6
South Wales: 7.8
In terms of offences , this translates to:
Dyfed-Powys: 3,316
Gwent: 4,869
North Wales: 6,052
South Wales: 10,515
Change over the past year
The ONS report shows that from June, 2020 to June, 2021, the total number of recorded crimes (excluding fraud) decreased in every Welsh police force, excluding Dyfed-Powys.
Total crimes compared with last year (% change):
Dyfed-Powys: 15
Gwent: -10
North Wales: - 1
South Wales: - 5
While the area didn't rank in the top 10 for violent crime in the UK, Dyfed-Powys saw a huge jump in reports of crime compared with last year.
Violence against the person figures compared with last year (% change):
Dyfed-Powys: 27
Gwent: -5
North Wales: 7
South Wales: 0
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