Figures show that crime is on the rise in Swansea as over 16,000 crimes were reported in the last year.

A Freedom of Information request submitted to South Wales Police shows that a total of 16,359 were reported within the City and County of Swansea between November 2014 and October 2015.

Craig Lawton, who submitted the application, said this demonstrates that crime is on the rise.

“In 2013 the number of crimes reported in the area were at 4.87 per 100 people.

“The figures for this year show that there were 6.78 crimes reported per 100.”

Mr Lawton, the Welsh Conservatives’ Assembly candidate for Swansea West, added “it is alarming to see such a big rise when looking at the whole picture.

“Considering Swansea has a population of just over 240,000 this means Swansea has seen an increase of up to 4,600 crimes per year since 2013.”

Mr Lawton went on to say “Police and PCSOs in Swansea are doing a brilliant job.

“I have attended PACT meetings with many of them and see them around Swansea as they support residents on a daily basis.

“But with crime numbers rising so much, it is time for South Wales Police reconsider how they distribute their force so that they can still support residents but at the same time also target key areas of crime.”

Mr Lawton has confirmed that he has written to Chief Constable Peter Vaughan and Alun Michael, South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner, urging them to look again at how they distribute forces throughout the city.

He added “I appreciate that South Wales Police have a variety of different crimes and issues to deal with.

“The other week I met with groups to discuss how hate crime is being tackled, while many other groups report different crimes as being a priority issue for them.

“South Wales Police should however have the information available to them to be able to target key areas so that Swansea residents can see a fall in those crime rates”