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Thousands more crimes are being committed across Staffordshire - as union leaders warn fewer bobbies are making it easier for 'opportunistic' criminals.

Latest figures show an extra 7,625 crimes were dealt with by Staffordshire Police in 2017 - a 10 per cent increase on the previous year.

It means the force is expecting to have dealt with between 85,000 and 90,000 crimes by the end of March - a 50 per cent increase compared to three years ago.

The biggest rises relate to physical violence, public order incidents and shoplifting offences.

Police chiefs argue that much of the increase is due to better crime recording, changes to Home Office crime classifications and victims having more confidence in the police.

But Staffordshire Police Federation - which represents rank-and-file officers - has highlighted that the number of bobbies has been slashed in recent years.

Federation chairman Keith Jervis said: “Part of this increase is because people feel more comfortable to report crime, and so they should be, and things like historic sex offences are coming about because of celebrity events like the Jimmy Savile scandal. But the issue is we have gone down from 2,400 officers to 1,600 and that has had an impact because opportunistic criminals are having more chances now.”

Police data reveals the number of serious sexual offences, car thefts, house burglaries and rapes to the police also increased in 2017. Other crimes - including criminal damage and 'serious violence' - have reduced over the same period.

Type of offence Increase in 2017 Violence against a person 3,211 Public order 1,072 Shoplifting 909 ‘Other’ theft 511 Serious sexual offences 370 Theft of a motor vehicle 278 Burglary of a residential dwelling 269 Theft from a motor vehicle 257 Theft of a pedal bike 255 Making off without payment 238 Rape 191 Other sexual offences 87

The crime rise is mirrored across England and Wales.

Staffordshire Police Chief Constable Gareth Morgan said: "We face significant challenges. Nationally, for the first time in several years, we are seeing crime rates rise and this is not just a result of more confidence in reporting or changes to Home Office reporting standards. In addition, we face a raft of new and emerging threats, including cyber-enabled crime – including online fraud or the pernicious use of the internet to groom and abuse the young.

“We need to be visible and have the ability to deal with crime at one end of the spectrum but we also need to find a way to deal with online crime and those with no obvious method of investigation but we also have very serious crimes that need more resources. With things like shoplifting and acquisitive crime we have a real-time increase and we need to look into what the issues are there."

Mr Morgan has highlighted the work of the force's resolution centre which is investigating thousands of crimes over the phone.

He added: “We are investing more resources in preventing crime in the first place and we want to invest in more technology and officers who can deal with more complex issues.”

Staffordshire Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Matthew Ellis today declined to address the union's concerns regarding the loss of hundreds of police officers - and instead turned his attention to Facebook and Twitter.

He said: "New laws mean other violent crimes include Facebook and Twitter, which are malicious communications, and they are increasing dramatically. The complexity of investigating social media crimes for police officers is frustrating because when they need information from these companies they can be based outside the UK and do not have to obey UK law."

Staffordshire Police and Crime Panel chairman David Williams said: "We have asked the question about the numbers of officers and we were told they have been moved to do other things and are dealing with cyber crimes, child exploitation and modern slavery. It is upsetting that the number of crimes is increasing. We believe the PCC is going to provide more neighbourhood officers and if the merger with Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service goes ahead that will free up more officers."