FORTY per cent of crimes in Hampshire went unsolved last year, new figures have revealed.

According to the Office of National Statistics, recorded offences soared by almost 20,000 in the year to March 2016.

The figures acknowledge that changes to the way crimes are recorded have impacted on the figures.

Hampshire police have moved to reassure the public that the apparent increase "does not necessarily mean there is more crime on our streets or in our homes", just that it is being recorded differently.

But 133,044 crimes were committed in the year to March 2016, according to the data, compared to 111,836 the year before.

Of the last year's cases 54,650 - 41 per cent - were left unsolved with no suspect identified.

The statistics also reveal that in 2,827 cases Hampshire police did not proceed with any further action as it was deemed to be 'not in the public interest'.

Hampshire police said there could be many reasons for that but that the offender may well be dealt with through other means including restorative justice programmes.

Of the 133,044 crimes recorded, only 15,785 resulted in someone being charged or issued with a summons.

John Apter, chairman of Hampshire Police Federation, the body that represents rank and file officers, said: "The way that crime is recorded has changed significantly to how it was just a couple of years ago, so it doesn't surprise me therefore that the crimes appear to be showing an increase.

"I can imagine that it looks bad but the public should be under no doubt that officers do their damnedest to catch offenders and bring them to justice, and that is in spite of the additional bureaucracy they have to deal with."

He added that the new way of recording crime takes into account cases which have no realistic prospect of prosecution, which before would not have been factored in.

John Apter said police "do their damnedest" to catch criminals

"It is quite right that we have fuller picture. But I think these figures show that more demand than ever is being placed on the police force and that is hand in hand with a reduction in the number of police officers and staff. I have long said that cuts have consequences and we are seeing that in figures like this. Nationally we have 20,000 fewer officers than we did 5 or 6 years ago.

"If the government and public want detections to improve then they have to accept that there is a cost to that."

Kevin Hogg from the National Victim Association said: "The victim should be at the heart of the criminal justice system and these figures show that simply isn't the case.

"We need a shake up of the criminal justice system to bring more offenders to justice and certainly more investment in it."

In response to the figures Detective Chief Superintendent Ben Snuggs said the force had predicted a jump in figures following a review of how crimes were recorded which concluded that more offences should be classed as crimes.

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He said: "The renewed focus on the quality of crime recording following this inspection means that we need to understand the context when interpreting trends in police recorded crime. For example, increases in police recorded crime may be for a variety of reasons, including better recording practices, increased victim confidence in reporting non recent crime as well as the potential for actual increases in criminal activity.

"For example, previously if 11 cars had been vandalised in one street we would have recorded that as one crime, now that is recorded as 11."

Det Chief Supt Snuggs, pictured above, added that new offences such as so-called revenge porn along with recording anti social behaviour as a crime all impacted on the figures. Det Ch Insp Snuggs said that it was "inevitable" that some investigations do not lead to suspects being identified due to lack of evidence or witnesses but that decisions could be revisited if new information came to light.

“What's really important is that in this complex landscape, we ensure people who contact us enjoy a great service, are treated fairly and professionally and, despite being a victim of crime, are left feeling confident that we have done the best we could.”