Reported car crime in Ipswich has shot up by more than 10% compared to last year - with one area of the town seeing a 75% increase.
Statistics obtained by the Ipswich Star and EADT through a Freedom of Information request reveal the number of reported car crimes in Suffolk’s county town went from 993 in 2014/15 to 1096 in 2015/16, a jump of 103.
Of the town’s 15 wards, 10 suffered an increase in reports.
But it was Ipswich’s Bridge ward that saw the biggest rise from last year, leaping from 66 to 116 reported cases.
Tim Passmore, Suffolk’s police and crime and commissioner, said her would be getting officers to look at the crime figures.
He said: “It is a cause of some concern that there has been an increase in car crime in Bridge ward.
“It accounts for most of the increase in cases in the town.
“I will be getting the police to investigate this trend.
“Car crime in Suffolk is actually declining so it is obviously not good to hear of the rise in Bridge.
“There are some unscrupulous people doing this and they will hopefully be brought to book and punished accordingly.”
Councillor Philip Smart, who represents bridge ward, said the crime figures may not show the full picture and that his ward residents hadn’t voiced any concerns about car crime.
“It is the old problem of has the level of crime gone on up or has the reporting of crime gone up?” he said.
Last week police warned those who work out of a van to take their tools and valuables inside overnight after a spate of thefts from locked transit vans across the county.
DI Matt Connick from Suffolk Police said: “Many vehicle crimes are opportunistic and we urge all drivers to lock their vehicles and remove all valuable items.
“This can be a difficult crime to detect as if you have left a vehicle unlocked, the thief does not have to do any work to gain access to your property and, therefore, is less likely to leave any forensic evidence we can use to identify them.
“By securing your vehicle, you are making it more difficult for a crime to take place, and any break ins are more likely to leave trace.
“We also urge anyone who sees any suspicious activity, or suspects a crime is in progress, to dial 999.”
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