THE NUMBER of almost all types of recorded crimes has fallen in the Dyfed-Powys Police area in the year to December.

The total number of crimes – excluding fraud – recorded by the force fell from 44,538 in the year to December 2022 to 38,842 in the 12 months to December 2023, according to police recorded crime figures published recently by the Home Office.

The figures showed the only types of crime on the rise in the area were non-residential burglary, theft from a person, and shoplifting, as well as slight rises in the number of homicide and death or serious injury by unlawful driving cases recorded.

Stalking and harassment cases were the most commonly recorded crimes – with 8,298 reported in the year to December 2023. This, however, fell 19 per cent from 10,303 in the same period from the previous year.

Violence without injury (6,813), public order offences (4,755), criminal damage and arson (4,073), and violence with injury (3,680) were the next most commonly recorded types of crime.

Offences of theft from a person rose by the highest amount (91 per cent) between the year to December 2022 (109) and the year to December 2023 (208).

Shoplifting rose from 1,774 recorded offences to 1,975 and non-residential burglaries increased from 362 to 402 – both 11 per cent rises.

Five homicides were recorded by Dyfed-Powys Police in the year to December 2023 – up from four in the previous 12 months, whilst six incidents of death or serious injury by unlawful driving were reported, rising from five in the previous 12 months.

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The largest falls in reported crimes to Dyfed-Powys Police were bicycle thefts (a 28 per cent drop), public order offences (a 22 per cent decrease), and stalking and harassment (a 19 per cent fall).

Police forces across Wales saw an overall drop of two percent in the number of offences being recorded in the year to December 2023 when compared to the previous year.

North Wales Police saw a 12 per cent fall in recorded crimes, whilst Gwent Police saw a one per cent drop. South Wales Police, however, recorded an eight per cent rise in recorded crimes.

The number of crimes recorded by police forces across England and Wales saw a one per cent fall in the number of crimes recorded.

Dyfed-Powys Police also saw the lowest recorded crimes per 1,000 population (74.8) in Wales. There was 83.5 recorded crimes per 1,000 population in the North Wales Police area, whilst those figures were 84.9 and 98.1 for South Wales Police and Gwent Police respectively.