West Mercia and Dyfed-Powys Police bucking trend on solving robberies

The statistics revealed that out of 80,936 crimes reported to West Mercia Police, in 36,109, or 45 per cent, no suspect was found.

The official crime figures also show that suspects in the crimes in Mid Wales are more likely to be arrested than anywhere else in England and Wales.

Statistics from the Home Office Crime Outcomes Report show that Dyfed-Powys Police has the lowest rate of no offender found.

The force had a total of 23,268 crimes reported in the past year and of those in 6,963 or 30 per cent the person responsible was not identified.

The statistics reveal that performances by different forces vary considerably across the country and overall officers have failed to identify a suspect in more than half of all crimes reported to them.

In the West Midlands drivers whose vehicles were stolen were the least likely to see an arrest, with police failing to id­entify suspects in nine of ten cases, while in Greater Manchester officers failed to identify a suspect in almost 90.6 per cent of all burglaries reported.

Detective Chief Supt Shane Williams, of Dyfed-Powys Police, said: “In Dyfed-Powys Police we are fortunate to experience relatively low numbers of reported crime but it is pleasing to note we have identified suspects in approximately 70 per cent of all reported crime. Our priority is recognising and addressing vulnerability in all crimes and investigations and we recognise further work is needed to improve performance in crime areas such as robbery and burglary, accepting that the number of these offences is low.”

Deputy Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman, of West Mercia Police, said “We continue to do everything we can to tackle and reduce crime.

“We understand the impact of someone breaking into your home or being threatened in a robbery can never be underestimated. We are aware the figures released show an increase in reported crime and nationally it is acknowledge the demands on the police have increased. It is for that reason tackling and reducing these crimes will remain a priority. The work we have to do to tackle these crimes would not be possible without the close support of our community and we will continue to target our resources to tackle the issues highlighted.”

Of a total of 4.2 million crimes recorded by police forces in 2016 to 2017 suspects were identified in just two million or 48 per cent, and action was taken against offenders in just 749,719 cases or 17.5 per cent. The information comes from records filed by all police forces and covers every crime reported to police, from vandalism to murder.

In the West Midlands, of 206,394 crimes reported 125,712 or 61 per cent had no suspect identified, in Staffordshire of 77,619 crimes 31,796 or 41 per cent had no suspect, in Cheshire of 65,534 crimes reported 29,510 or 45 per cent had none and in North Wales of 40,871 reported 14,906 or 36 per cent had no suspect found.

A Home Office spokeswoman said: "We are clear that all crimes repor­ted to police should be taken seriously, investigated and, where appropriate, taken through the courts and met with tough sentences.”

The figures comes as an independent poll by Ipsos MORI shows that almost half of residents in England and Wales have not seen a uniformed police officer on foot in the past year.