BURGLARIES of homes in Gwynedd have almost doubled, according to the latest police recorded crime figures.

There were 269 household break-ins during 2017, data from the Office for National Statistics shows.

That is up by 85.5 per cent on the previous year, when 145 incidents were recorded.

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”.

ONS statistician Alexa Bradley commented: “The figures show that, for most types of offence, the picture of crime has been fairly stable, with levels much lower than the peak seen in the mid 1990s.

“However, we have seen evidence that increases in some types of theft have continued, in particular vehicle-related theft and burglary.”

Overall police recorded crime in Gwynedd increased in 2017.

During that period 7,570 crimes were recorded, up by 17 per cent on 2016.

That means that 61 out of every 1,000 residents experienced a crime during 2017, below the England and Wales average of 81.

Despite nationally rising, gun and knife possession offences in Gwynedd have dropped by two, to 39 incidents.

There have been three homicides, the term used for murder or manslaughter.

Theft, one of the most high volume crimes, has increased by 12 per cent. Drugs related offences dropped by 10.6 per cent.

Chief Constable Bill Skelly of the National Police Chiefs’ Council said: “In the last year policing has been under strain as traditional crimes are committed in new and more sophisticated ways, the terror threat has grown and there’s a need to safeguard an increasing number of vulnerable people.

“Police data shows that violent crime and the associated homicides, car crime and theft are all increasing significantly.

“These rises are genuine and deeply concerning but the public should be assured we are doing everything we can to bring them down and keep the public safe.”

Mr Skelly said that tackling violent crime isn’t something the police can do alone.

“Officers continue to employ stop and search to seize knives and weapons and we work closely with schools to educate young people about the dangers of carrying a knife and stop them from turning to a life of crime,” he explained.

Criminal damage, which includes arson and vandalising cars and houses, has gone up, from 1,155 incidents in 2016, to 1,257 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, it is suggested.

Similarly sexual crime statistics are hard to judge as many more victims are now coming forward due to a series of high profile cases.

In Gwynedd there were 384 incidents recorded in 2017, a 17 per cent rise on the previous year, when 329 crimes were reported.

The ONS report said that given the factors, which include victims of historical sexual abuse coming forward to report old crimes and an improvement in police reporting, it is hard to reliably interpret these figures.

Police and Fire Service Minister Nick Hurd said: “The ONS is clear that overall levels of crime are stable, with traditional crime over a third lower than it was in 2010.

“It is also welcome that the police’s recording of crime is improving, and that more victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence are feeling empowered to come forward.

But Mr Hurd acknowledged some of the increases “in police-recorded violent offences are genuine”.

He said the government has taken “urgent action” to stop these crimes.

The minister added: “We will be announcing tough new laws to crack down on acid attacks and knife offences. And as crime changes, we will change our response.

“Our Serious Violence Strategy places a new emphasis on steering young people away from a life of crime, while continuing to promote the strongest possible law enforcement response.”