Shocking figures show fewer than 9% of burglars, robbers and arsonists caught and convicted in Hartlepool

Shocking crime figures show the number of solved cases is less than 9% in Hartlepool.
There has been a drop in solved crimeThere has been a drop in solved crime
There has been a drop in solved crime

The official crime statistics for 2017 show that in the town there were 10,619 crimes of robbery, burglary, arson or criminal damage.

Of these, only 8.81% were solved - with the offender caught and punished.

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An investigation by the Sunday Times mapped the 4.7million crimes recorded in England and Wales in 2017 throughout official data provided by police forces.

It revealed the detection rate with recorded sanctions has fallen nationally over the last five years from 19% to 9%.

The figures also showed that nationally on average fewer than 5% of street robberies and burglaries are being solved.

Durham Constabulary was one of the top performing forces with 18.38% of the 47,843 crimes of robbery, burglary, arson or criminal damage, being solved.

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And, Chief Constable Mike Barton, believes more bobbies on the beat plays a crucial role.

The investigation found just 4% of robberies were solved in England and Wales last year, compared with 9% in 2013, and the burglary detection rate fell during the same period from 6% to 3%.

In more than 1,000 neighbourhoods with at least 30 crimes, the police failed to catch and punish any of the suspects.

The decline in detection rates will raise concerns police are struggling to protect the public, with the number of officers in England and Wales at the lowest level since the late 1980s.

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Police forces provide crime data for data.police.uk, which is cross-referenced with Ministry of Justice files.

It provides a detailed record of every crime, and whether the crime has been solved, with the offenders caught and convicted or given another penalty. It is the first public police database to record the outcome of crimes after an offender has been charged.

A small proportion of crimes from last year are still being investigated and others are going through the courts, but the trend appears to be clear.