Burglaries and violent crimes are on the rise in Denham and Gerrards Cross – sparking concerns the areas are suffering amid policing cuts.

A year’s review of crime in the areas showed victim-based offences have risen by nine per cent, while ‘violence against the person’ has increased by 16 per cent in Gerrards Cross Denham.

Speaking at the Denham and Gerrards Cross LAF on Wednesday, neighbourhood police officer, James Ellis, said burglaries have actually decreased when looking at year-on-year figures.

However there has been a 119 per cent increase in the crime in the past five months – with burglaries rising from 16 to 35 when compared with the previous five month period.

Chairman of the LAF, councillor Roger Reed, raised concerns cuts to policing and the loss of Gerrards Cross police station, in Oxford Road, are to blame for the rise in crime.

In the past three years Thames Valley Police has lost 1,000 front line police officers, according to Home Office figures.

Cllr Reed said: “There are those are those who might suggest that sort of increase is due to the reduction in neighbourhood policing and the fact we no longer have a police station in Denham.

“I quite understand that actually where the police station is neither here nor there, police stations don’t actually convict or find the bad guys, but there is the fact that headlines in the local paper very recently there was a 1,000 reduction in front line staff."

Sergeant Ellis confirmed the number of neighbourhood sergeants has halved inthe local policing area as part of a major restructuring within the Thames Valley police force.

However he added police priorities for the next year are to continue engaging with the community, reduce residential burglary crimes, reduce violent crimes and help bring more offenders to justice.