This is equivalent to 6,354 fewer victims of crime or more than 17 fewer victims every day, marking South Wales Police as having the fifth biggest reduction in crime overall of the 43 forces in England and Wales.
Criminal damage has dropped significantly by 15.9% - the highest reduction in England and Wales.
The number of homes burgled reduced by 6.6% and robberies fell by 11.6%.
Assistant Chief Constable Julian Kirby said: “The reality of these figures is that fewer people are becoming victims of crime.
“6,354 fewer people became a victim of crime over the period and I commend our staff who have worked hard to deliver this fantastic performance.
“This has been another challenging year for the organisation due to the budget cuts, but we have never been more focused on the job in hand. We are changing the organisation for the better to ensure we work smarter and faster, there when the public needs us and arresting criminals to go before the courts.
“This includes making changes to our staff structures so officers are in the best place to deal with incidents and investigate them. Today’s figures also show more crimes are being solved.
“We will not stop targeting people who drive up crime by repeatedly committing offences and behaving anti-socially. They should know that we will not leave them alone and there is always a space in our cells for them, but we are working with our partners and the probation service to help them find another path away from crime.
“We will carry on trying to prevent incidents before they happen through education and raising awareness, but we can’t do it alone.
“We hope the public will continue to support us by calling 101 to pass on information they have about crime, suspicious activity or anti-social behaviour in their area.”
Additional Information:
Recorded crime down 6.6% (5th biggest reduction)
Latest figures reveal there were 6,354 fewer victims of crime
Robbery down 11.6% (11th biggest reduction)
Dwelling burglaries down 6.6% (18th biggest reduction)
Vehicle crime down 14.2% (6th biggest reduction)
Criminal damage down 15.9% (*Highest reduction in the country)
Assault with injury down 11.2% (11th biggest reduction)