Streets safer than ever

In his past year as the man in charge of crime-reduction in Wales he has seen a decrease in crimes and evidence that the drug awareness message is reaching its audience.

And it's all down to the three Cs - cameras, co-operation and communication.

More CCTV cameras are making the streets safer and helping to catch criminals.

Police and other authorities are working together, co-operating to bring improvements to areas such as street lighting and drug education.

And the public is talking to police - reporting crimes instead of staying silent.

Mr A'herne says an apparent increase in recent Home Office figures in some categories of violent crime in Newport is because Gwent Police is cracking down on them and more people are reporting them.

He attributes the 6.7 per cent drop in reported crime in Wales to what he describes as a "joined-up strategy" - with police working with other authorities and an increase in surveillance cameras, operated by local authorities.

Cameras, he said, reduced vandalism and reduced the number of places where criminals could hide.

Previously Gwent hit the headlines for Home Office figures which showed increases in recorded violent crime.

The latest figures for Gwent show a reduction of 5.7 per cent in crime overall.

But Home Office figures for the 12 months to March this year show violent crime in Gwent rising by 3.1 per cent.

"There's a misconception about that," said Mr A'herne. "Gwent Police deal with every form of violent crime."

He says Gwent Police prevent serious violence by arresting people for public order offences.

But these offences - although less serious - must be recorded as violent crimes.

"It creates an illusion that crime has risen," he said. "The underlying trend is a reduction in crime.

"The perceived incidence of violence in society is dropping and the police have made a real impact."

Gwent's no-nonsense approach to troublemakers - while pushing up the crime statistic - has helped people to feel safer on the streets.

"Gwent Police have taken this on board more than any other force in England and Wales and are to be congratulated for reducing the fear of crime."

Mr A'herne said an apparent increase in racially aggravated crime could be similarly explained.

Gwent's figures for racially aggravated harassment rose from 81 to 124 in the past year.

"The police are taking an active interest and seeking out information about race-related incidents and recording them," he said. "This helps crime-reduction partnerships in their activities."

He had special admiration for the work of the probation service.

"They're able to understand some of the causes of crime in Gwent and they're using that knowledge."

In the coming year, Mr A'herne hopes to see a strengthening of the crime-reduction partnerships and a further drop in the crime figures.

But he warned: "It's taken a long time for crime to go up and it will take a long time to get it back down. It's a long haul."