 Gwent Police said it used a local style of policing to catch burglars |
Police forces in Wales have the top five detection rates for burglary in the UK, according to new Home Office statistics. The Newport, Eastern North Wales, Merthyr Tydfil, Western North Wales and Central North Wales area divisions topped the research.
The survey rated the 250 divisions in the UK in terms of the percentage of domestic burglaries they solve.
Newport is the best-performing division with almost a 52% detection rate.
In the past year, police in Newport have managed to cut burglaries by 20%.
That compares to areas of England - like Manchester - where the last official figures to be published show a detection rate of just 8%.
 |  Community intelligence is vital and important  |
Chief Superintendent, Kevin Price, Gwent Police's divisional commander in Newport, said: "Gwent prides itself on its crime detection and investigation policies."
He said that every burglary was attended by a uniformed police officer, scenes-of-crime officers and then a uniformed officer.
"We have great success through our investment for scientific support and we believe this contributes very heavily towards our detection rates," he said.
Ch Supt Price added that the force had adopted "a local style of policing".
"We actively seek out those who are committing crimes, profile those individuals and make sure we are well aware of what activity they are performing," he said.
"Community intelligence is vital and important."
Filmmaker and criminologist Roger Graef said that local knowledge was a key part in the Welsh successes identified in the report.
"The officers in these places are more likely to live in the area, to have worked in the area all their lives and to know the people who are at," he said.
"This has always been the underrated magic ingredient in solving crimes," he said.
Newport West MP Paul Flynn, says he was delighted the city has topped the burglary detection league.
"Newportonians should raise a glass to the police this Christmas," he said.
The internal Home Office computer figures are prepared for all of the 250 police divisions - now known as basic command units (BCUs) - in England and Wales.
The statistics have been made available to police forces for the first time.
The unit with the best detection rate for all crimes is the western area of north Wales with 47.37%.
North Wales Police Authority members were told last week that house burglaries overall were down by 39%.
Chief Superintendent Gareth Pritchard told BBC Wales: "We've had an investment in community policing and had excellent support from the community itself and that relationship is starting to show in improved detection rates".
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