NEARLY three quarters of crimes have gone unsolved in Gloucestershire this year.
Figures revealed under the Freedom of Information Act show Gloucestershire Police has responded to 28,353 crimes this year, but 20,768 of them – 73 per cent – have been closed undetected, meaning no offender has been brought to justice.
In Gloucester, there were 9,004 crimes since January 1 – 6,466 of which have not been cracked.
Among the undetected crimes in the city were 885 violent offences, 121 sexual offences, 73 robberies, 1,237 burglaries, 2,725 thefts and 1,114 incidents of criminal damage.
Nicola Gibbons, 23, had her ground-floor flat in Stroud Road ransacked in October. Christmas presents for family and thousands of pounds of electrical equipment were taken.
Someone has been arrested, but she said the figures were surprising.
"They're really shocking, I can't believe that number of crimes aren't solved," she said. "That makes me really mad and the police really should be doing something about it.
"We still haven't got any of our stuff back. Someone has been arrested, but we don't know what the latest is or how long it will be."
Police defended the figures and said the threshold to secure a conviction in court is incredibly high.
Nigel Avron, chief superintendent for local policing in the county, said: "Figures around detections are constantly changing and even since these statistics were released, some of the offence categories will have seen increases in the percentage of crimes that have been detected.
"It is very important to remember that as police we have to find evidence to prove a case beyond all reasonable doubt for a conviction at court.
"Securing material that reaches that very high threshold is not always possible.
"However, the number of crimes in the county has been falling for some years and it is vital to stress that your chance of being a victim of crime in the county is still extremely low. This has been our focus and again we have witnessed a fall in crime reporting."
Crimes gone undetected Gloucester: Violent crime - 1,614, 885 undetected Sexual offences - 144, 121 undetected Robbery - 93, 73 undetected Burglary - 1,318, 1,237 undetected Theft - 3,644, 2,725 undetected Fraud and forgery - 271, 184 undetected Criminal damage - 1,340, 1,114 undetected Drug offences - 427, 70 undetected Others - 153, 57 undetected Stroud: Violent crime - 714, 394 undetected Sexual offences - 68, 57 undetected Robbery - 16, 15 undetected Burglary - 584, 548 undetected Theft - 1,416, 1,159 undetected Fraud and forgery - 121, 92 undetected Criminal damage - 851, 718 undetected Drug offences - 266, 26 undetected Others - 72, 37 undetected Tewkesbury: Violent crime - 320, 183 undetected Sexual offences - 46, 35 undetected Robbery - 9, 8 undetected Burglary - 379, 357 undetected Theft - 1,063, 915 undetected Fraud and forgery - 112, 93 undetected Criminal damage - 445, 385 undetected Drug offences - 136, 17 undetected Others - 23, 9 undetected Forest of Dean: Violent crime - 420, 240 undetected Sexual offences - 48, 41 undetected Robbery - 6, 2 undetected Burglary - 435, 405 undetected Theft - 1,025, 854 undetected Fraud and forgery - 54, 37 undetected Criminal damage - 421, 356 undetected Drug offences - 153, 23 undetected Others - 31, 17 undetected