Home office figures show that a South Wales Argus campaign to cut car crime in Gwent is beginning to bear fruit.
In the three months following the launch of the Car Safe campaign car crime fell by 25 per cent.
Car Safe was launched just days before Gwent police launched their own car crime crackdown in response to a worrying surge in the number of thefts of and from cars in Gwent.
In just one three month period there were 2,718 such crimes.
In the three months following the launch of the joint campaigns the numbers fell to 2,046.
Argus editor Gerry Keighley said: “This is a victory of sorts, there is still a long way to go but the figures are heading in the right direction.”
The campaign’s five specific aims are:
There have been successes in different areas.
The owners of two major retail parks in Newport have agreed to increase security at their sites.
And magistrates are taking advantage of flexibility within sentencing guidelines to enforce tougher deterrent sentences for repeat offenders.
The Argus has also succeeded in raising public awareness to car crime hotspots and has given publicity to any Gwent police activity linked with cutting car crime.
Police believe the next quarterly figures from the Home Office will reveal a further fall in car crime in Gwent.
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