THE number of arrests made by police in Hampshire has more than halved in the last decade, figures reveal.

Data from the Home Office shows that Hampshire Constabulary carried out 19,281 arrests in the year to March, compared with 44,524 in 2007-08.

The tally for the latest 12-month period was 22 per cent up on the previous year.

Across England and Wales, data from all but one of the 43 police forces shows that officers conducted 698,737 arrests in 2017-18, 8 per cent fewer than in the previous year, and half the level 10 years ago.

“This continues the downward trend seen since a peak in the year ending March 2008,” a government report said.

In the wake of the findings, the National Police Chiefs’ Council warned “proactive capabilities” to prevent crime have been “significantly curtailed”.

The reduction comes at a time when police are recording rising numbers of crimes across a number of categories including violent, knife-related and sexual offences.

Data released last week showed that Hampshire Constabulary registered 160,002 crimes in the 12 months to June, an increase of 2 per cent on the previous year.

Across England and Wales, 5.6 million crimes were recorded – the highest total since the year ending March 2005.

In a statistical paper, the Home Office pointed to improvements in recording practices and increased confidence among victims as contributing to the rise.

Growing use of a process known as “voluntary attendance” has been cited as one potential factor behind the dip in arrests. This is where an individual goes to a police station or any other place where a constable is present without having been arrested, for the purpose of assisting with an investigation.

Last year, a watchdog report suggested the reduction could also be linked to “resourcing pressures”.

Labour MP Yvette Cooper, who chairs the Home Affairs Select Committee, said: “These are shocking figures. Arrests have almost halved over the last 10 years and fallen by 8% in the last year alone.“Arrests are going down at exactly the same time as serious crimes are increasing at an alarming rate.”

In Hampshire, the most common type of crime people were arrested for was violence against the person, representing 49 per cent of arrests.

A further 17 per cent were for theft offences. Most people arrested, 85 per cent, were male.