BIG increases in burglaries in Gwent during April-June, along with a rise in vehicle crime and theft drove a 9.2 per cent increase in crime in the area.

But a senior Gwent police officer says a crackdown on burglary is having a significant effect, and public confidence in the policing is growing.

During April-June, 12,954 cases were recorded in Gwent compared 11,864 in the same period last year.

Domestic burglaries were up 27.6 per cent, to 651, while there were 326 more cases of burglaries of commercial and other premises. the quarterly total of 1,116 being a 41 per cent increase.

Overall, crime in Gwent was up in nine of 11 categories, but Assistant Chief Constable Jeff Farrar said change is in the air.

"We identified that burglary, predominantly around Newport, was a problem, and since launching Operation Conifer to target that, in July, there has been a big drop in burglary in the city," he said.

One of the areas where cases have fallen is sexual offences, with a 14 per cent fall to 134 during April-June.

"We have a specialist team in place to look at this, and it is very pleasing to see cases down," said Mr Farrar.

He also highlighted British Crime Survey findings that indicated significant improvements in public confidence around policing issues in Gwent, among the best in England and Wales during the first quarter of 2009/10.

"We are starting to see crime trends level off but that is not good enough for me, because we need to see them going down.

"We as a force need to be working closely with local authorities and community safety partnerships on a wide range of crime and policing issues."