BURGLARIES of homes in Ceredigion have increased by almost a third, according to the latest police recorded crime figures.

There were 170 household break-ins during the 12 months to the end of September last year, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.

That is up by 32.8 per cent on the previous year, when 128 incidents were recorded by police.

The statistics are based on crimes reported to the police, and the ONS urges caution in interpreting some of these figures.

Some offences go unreported while others may be more numerous due to a change in the focus of the police or greater public attention.

However, it did say there appears to be a genuine rise in burglary as it is a crime that’s “relatively well-reported by the public and relatively well-recorded by the police”.

Overall police-recorded crime in Ceredigion has increased over the last 12 months.

During that period 4,614 crimes were recorded, up by 14 per cent on the previous period.

That means that 62 out of every 1,000 residents experienced a crime during that time, but it is below the England and Wales average of 79.

Gun and knife possession offences have risen by one to 28 incidents.

ONS statistician Mark Bangs said: “While overall levels of violent crime were not increasing, there is evidence of rises having occurred in some of the low-incidence, but more harmful categories such as knife and gun crime.”

Over the recorded period there have been no homicides, murder or manslaughter.

In Ceredigion, theft, one of the most high-volume crimes, has increased by 13 per cent.

Drugs-related offences dropped by 18.4 per cent.

Criminal damage, which includes arson and vandalising cars and houses, has gone down, from 737 incidents in 2015 and 2016, to 694 in the latest figures.

While violence with injury, which includes assault, GBH and wounding, has risen, this could just be due to improved police recording as opposed to an increase in incidents.

Similarly sexual crime statistics are hard to judge as many more victims are now coming forward.

In Ceredigion there were 211 incidents recorded from October 2016 to September 2017, a three per cent decrease on the previous 12 months, when 218 crimes were reported.

See this week’s south papers for the full story, available in shops and as a digital edition tomorrow