Rise in number of robberies solved

Between October and December the rise included a 14.7 per cent increase in the detection rate of robberies, an 8.7 per cent increase for both serious acquisitive crime and domestic burglary, and an 8.5 per cent rise in the detection rate for serious sexual offences.

Beds Police Authority, which oversees law enforcement across the county, cautiously welcomed the figures.

Martin Pantling, chairman of the authority’s performance and planning committee, said: “We are pleased with the upward trend in detections but these figures only provide a snapshot of the year’s progress.

“The public rightly expects the police to bring perpetrators of crime to justice and this means we must always do our best to ensure we make as many criminals pay for their actions as possible.”

He added: “The performance figures do show that more work needs to be done to improve confidence and satisfaction levels among our communities, and solving more crimes and bringing offenders to justice are the most obvious ways we can do that.

“We are facing unprecedented financial challenges in the coming months and will effectively have to do the same job with less funding but the ambition to drive down crime in the county must remain as strong as ever.

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