DRUG offences in Bracknell Forest have soared by 90 per cent over the past year according to the latest crime statistics released by Thames Valley Police today. 

The borough saw 61 offences for drug dealing between April 2015 and March 2016, up on the 32 recorded incidents in 2014/15, and a further 271 offences for possession of drugs, up more than a half on the previous year. 

The figures came to light today after police released the annual crime figures for the recently-merged Bracknell and Wokingham Local Police Area (LPA).

However, police put the sharp increase in recorded incidents of drug offences down to a police crackdown to tackle the problem and noted overall the borough remained one of the safest in the country. 

Speaking to the News, Supt Robert France, commander for the Bracknell and Wokingham LPA, said: "We are seeing drug dealing activity, Bracknell in particular, that we know is impacting on the community. We don't shy away from that. 

"We target robustly those people that deal drugs to vulnerable people and we support people who are users who are definitely vulnerable to stop their abuse."

He added that many of the dealers, described as "catalysts" for other crimes, are travelling in from outside the area to sell and said tackling drugs would remain a key priority over the next year. 

Overall, crime in Bracknell and Wokingham has risen by 3.6 per cent on last year, something police say is down to a change in the crimes are recorded. 

Recorded sexual offences are up 24.2 per cent in Bracknell on last year, with 67 rapes and 154 sexual assaults recorded in 2015/16, while sexual offence rose by a third in Wokingham, from 489 incidents to 587, including 63 rapes.

The number of reports of domestic abuse in Wokingham rose by 20 per cent (489 to 587) and decreased in Bracknell by 7.6 per cent (568 to 525), over the last year. A disparity put down better support to prevent people becoming repeat victims and a higher number of victims coming forward for the first time in Wokingham. 

Supt France explained: "I am confident that the increases we have seen in our LPA are underpinned by more people feeling that they are able to report these offences to us. This is a reflection of our officer’s ongoing commitment to raising awareness of these issues, breaking down barriers and supporting and encouraging more victims of these terrible crimes to come forward."

Despite the slight increase in overall crime, the number of recorded burglaries continued to fall with just 337 homes burgled across both Bracknell and Wokingham in 2015/16, a 14.8 per cent reduction in Bracknell and a 7.1 per cent reduction for Wokingham. 

The Bracknell and Wokingham LPAs merged on April 4 this year to create a single policing area covering more than 100,000 households. 

Neighbourhood Policing Teams remain the same following the merger and Supt France said it had worked well so far, offering police more "flexibility and resilience".

Thames Valley Police is one of only five forces to be rated 'good' across all areas by HMIC and have a victim satisfaction rate of 88.4 per cent.