MORE rapes are being reported to Thames Valley Police, but the deputy police and crime commissioner doesn't think that there are more rapists on the streets.

Matthew Barber, who is also the chair of the Local Criminal Justice Board (LCJB) , told the police and crime panel at the monthly meeting in Aylesbury that 'nobody has a good answer' about why crime is increasing but he thinks that more people are reporting historic crime, which skews the police statistics.

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He said: "Is crime increasing and how much?

"I don't think any body has a good answer."

He explained that a large amount of recorded rape crimes and violence is 'historic', adding: "From the scale of the increase I don't think the amount of rapes have tripled.

"I think that more people are reporting crimes to police.

"It's not an excuse but to answer the question it is really important to understand.

"I am keen to build some more robust statistics – we need to record nationally.

"There are a falling number of prosecutions and arrests are going up."