FIGHTING crime is no easy task. So the news that almost seven in 10 crimes are not solved in the county should be considered in a very measured way.

No police force in any part of the country is solving every crime. Indeed, many reported crimes have to be dropped at a very early stage.

For instance, if someone steals a bike, but no-one saw the theft, there is often little evidence for the police to pursue.

One argument that policy-makers put forward is that it is surely more important to focus on the most serious crimes – which naturally means a greater number of less serious crimes are not punished.

The vast majority of murders, to take an example, are pursued relentlessly and lead to cases going to court.

But whatever perfectly rational explanations there are for many crimes not being solved, we must also be mindful of the experience of victims.

For a person whose home has been burgled, being told that it is very hard to crack a case will not wash.

Quite simply, we expect the police to catch criminals.

They have a very difficult job and, at the end of the day, it is the criminals giving them too much work who are to blame for low detection rates.

But as our figures show today, they need to do more to bring more offenders in our county to justice.