Police identify suspect for just four out of ten Northampton crimes

Latest figures for August 2017 to July 2018 show that when Northampton victims reported an offence, in just over 40 per cent of cases did police find someone who they believe did it.

And, if someone is arrested, the numbers drop off dramatically as they move through the criminal justice system. Of the 23,328 crimes reported, only 858 charges made it as far as a courtroom.

The lack of success in finding potential culprits has been criticised by members of the Northamptonshire Police and Crime Panel.

Councillor Gareth Eales said: "I believe this simply comes back to lack of resources and the stats back this up.

"In the last 12 months there has been a slight increase in officers and the number of crimes has gone down.

"In the end, it's about the funding from Government. To solve this problem, we need to be asking for more and I'm not sure we've been doing that enough. If you don't ask, you don't get"

Northampton Neighbourhood Inspector Dave Rayfield, responded to the figures by stressing that the county force gives the best possible service to victims - including support - with the resources it has.

But he added that money and boots on the ground is not the only major factor.

Inspector Rayfield said “With all crime, we carry out an appropriate investigation, taking into account the evidence available to us.

"We would seek to bring charges or other resolution but the reality is that in some cases, there is very little or no evidence or further lines of enquiry.

“We continue to work hard to resolve the offences reported to us and to bring more offenders to justice."