Two thirds of crimes committed in Maidstone and Malling go unsolved or are not pursued.

The figures, released by Kent Police following a Freedom of Information request, reveal only one third of reported offences were solved last year.

More than 25 crimes are committed every day in the Maidstone policing district, while neighbouring Tonbridge fares better with only 15 offences recorded.

The force has defended its record, saying it’s misleading to look only at detection rates and there could be many reasons why prosecutions don’t take place.

In total 18,448 crimes were committed in Maidstone over the past two years, with the number of offences solved standing at just 5,543.

In Tonbridge 10,983 offences were recorded and 3,205 were solved.

Police were unable to provide the figures for the number of convictions. In dealing with offenders, Kent Police identified 16 different outcomes, including charges, cautions, cannabis warnings and restorative justice orders.

The figures also reveal Maidstone’s five most prolific offenders – in terms of charges accrued – racked up 135 between them over the period, with 104 of these for shoplifting.

One man was charged 39 times – the equivalent of once every two and a half weeks – for 22 shoplifting offences, 12 assaults, four public order crimes and one drug offence.

In Tonbridge, the same group collected 100 charges, yet only 11 of these were for shoplifting.

Divisional commander Ch Supt Steve Corbishley said: “Every crime reported to Kent Police is investigated thoroughly and proportionately, with all appropriate lines of inquiry followed up.

“Maidstone and Tonbridge are well policed boroughs and continues to be a safe place to live, work and visit but when crime is committed it is always treated seriously and officers go to great lengths to identify and prosecute those responsible.

“However, it is misleading to focus on detection rates as a measure of success.

“In many cases a suspect is identified but there may be many reasons why they are not brought to justice, for example when the victim does not support a prosecution.

“Every undetected crime remains on file and can be reopened at any point should new information come to light.”