JUST ten per cent of crimes across Dudley ended up with a suspect being charged, latest crime figures show.

Statistics show 10.39 per cent of all 2,001 crimes in the Dudley borough that were reported to West Midlands Police in September resulted in a suspect being charged; while in more than half of all cases (55 per cent) investigations ended up being completed with no suspect identified.

In more than a quarter of cases (28 per cent) the authorities were unable to prosecute.

West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson said: "I take these statistics very seriously, I hope the government do too.

"Since 2010 West Midlands Police has lost over £175 million in government funding, which has led to the loss of over 2,000 officers. The force are working flat-out with the resources at their disposal.

"We have protected the role of neighbourhood policing, unlike many forces across the country. However, officers in neighbourhood teams are having to deal with more and more crimes than before.

"This means West Midlands Police are having to prioritise and pursue the most serious crimes which have the potential to cause the highest amount of harm and danger to local communities.

"I recently joined the leaders of the country’s largest urban forces to demand a fairer deal, so the police have the resources they need to catch offenders and bring them to justice."

Dudley North Labour MP Ian Austin said the figures were "really shocking" but not surprising "when police budgets have been slashed and the number of police officers has been cut".

He added: “We’ve seen a series of tragic deaths as a result of knife crime in the Black Country. We’ve lost over £140 million and 2,000 police officers in the West Midlands under this government. We’re facing major challenges from serious and violent crime, gang behaviour and even terrorism but West Midlands Police has been cut five times as hard as leafy Surrey and that is bound to have an impact.

“I have repeatedly called on the Government to provide funding for the cash-strapped West Midlands Police so they can keep local people safe.”

Dudley South Conservative MP told the News he was among a group of West Midlands MPs who had written to the Chancellor calling for extra funding for the police but added: "The West Midlands Police budget is £9.5million up yet there's half a million pounds less being spent on frontline policing. The Crime Commissioner should be looking at frontline policing instead of a 28 per cent increase in the budget for his office."

And he continued: "Dudley is the lowest crime part of the West Midlands - that doesn't mean they can move all resources into Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Coventry. "People are paying council tax and central government taxes are paying for a police service that we are just not receiving in the West Midlands."

Mr Wood, whose father was a police officer, said he had met with Dudley's new top cop Chief Superintendent Sally Bourner recently and he added: "She's determined to focus on the kind of crimes that most worry people such as violent crime, burglary, car thefts and knife crime - those are the priorities."

But he added: "We need to make sure the leadership of the force actually backs the local leadership so we've got the resources to deal with the particular issues we face in Dudley."

The full stats on crime outcomes can be found online at https://data.police.uk/data/.