Labour has called it a “national scandal” that only 5.7% of crimes were solved last year after 2.3 million cases were dropped without a suspect being found.

The Home Office figure for England and Wales covers the 12 months from April 2022 and is a small improvement on the year before.

The 5.7% represents the proportion of crimes that resulted in a charge or court summons.

For sex offences, the charge rate was 3.6% – and just 2.1% for rape; while only 6.5% of robberies ended with a suspect being charged.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said Labour would ensure more crimes are solved if it wins power, as well as making police forces recruit more detectives to reverse a national shortage.

She said candidates would be brought in from sectors such as child protection and business fraud investigations.

Ms Cooper accused the Tories of having an “abysmal” record on law and order as the figures showed more than 90% of crimes were going unsolved.

“For some serious crimes, like rape and robbery, the charge rate is now so low it constitutes a national scandal,” she said.

“For far too long in this country, too many crimes have been committed without any consequences. Victims increasingly feel like no-one comes and nothing is done. Labour is determined this has to change.”

A Home Office spokeswoman said communities were safer than when it came to power 13 years ago, with “neighbourhood crimes including burglary, robbery and theft down 51% and serious violent crime down 46%”.

“The government has delivered more police officers than ever in England and Wales and the home secretary expects police to improve public confidence by getting the basics right – catching more criminals and delivering justice for victims,” said the spokeswoman.

“As part of the Beating Crime Plan, we have also committed to giving every single person in England and Wales access to the police digitally through a national online platform.”

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Policing minister Chris Philp claimed Labour were “soft on crime and soft on criminals” and claimed “where Labour are in power, crime is over a third higher than Conservative-run areas”.

“Under the Conservatives, adult rape convictions have increased by two thirds over the last year, dangerous criminals are being locked up for longer, and there are now over 20,000 new police officers helping to keep our streets safe,” said Mr Philp.