Crime in Cannock at two-year high with thefts on the increase

Officers dealt with 654 reports in March – more than 21 incidents a day.

Since April 2015 the number of incidents reported to police in one month has fluctuated between 400 and 600.

Last month was only the second time in that period that incidents have topped the 600 mark – with 604 in January this year.

In March theft became the most recorded crime in the district for the first time since October, overtaking violence against the person.

There were 160 thefts in the month rising from 117 in February.

There has been a sharp rise in criminals breaking into vans and cars to steal property, rather than to take the vehicle, with incidents nearly quadrupling from 12 in February to 42 in March.

George Adamson, leader of Cannock Chase District Council, said: "It is a worry, after years of cuts to local officers it was bound to happen, like we said it would.

"We did review CCTV ourselves and decided to keep the CCTV throughout the district. Hopefully it will help catch some of these culprits

"There are more incidents rather than more reporting of incidents. The fact is crime is going up."

The figures are revealed on Staffordshire's Police and Crime Commissioner website, where the number of incidents reported every month for the last two-year period is published.

In January the Express & Star revealed the number of crimes reported in the district had risen by 10 per cent from 2015 to 2016.

Chief Inspector Geoff Knight, commander for Cannock Chase, has said: "Some of this is due to an increased confidence in crime reporting – we are embedded into local communities and where previously crime has probably not been reported in the past people have more confidence in local police.

"Another reason is that more crime is recorded where police carry out proactive work and make more arrests."