Home Office statistics put the county's cops in England's top five for detecting crime and in the top 10 for getting offenders before the courts.

Detections in the county – meaning someone goes through the justice system – are at a five year high, according to the figures.

But they also reveal that last year more than 114,000 offences were either unsolved or dealt with by on-the-spot fines and cautions.

Of 135,837 crimes recorded by Lancashire police in 2006 just 16% saw charges brought or court action taken.

Some 88,294 crimes – 65% of reported offences – were simply never solved.

Of the offenders sanctioned after being caught, approximately 21,733 were taken before the courts, 10,866 got cautions, 4,075 had offences taken into consideration and 8,150 were given on-the-spot fines.

Fylde MP Michael Jack said: "One of the most important deterrents against crime is detection, and while I acknowledge Lancashire has improved, there is still a lot more which has to be done.

"Detection rates of serious crimes are up at 80 or 90%, but if you come down the spectrum to lower level crimes it can be more like 20%."

Preston MP Mark Hendrick said: "Detection rates are improving and there has also been a rise in confidence in the police, because people are reporting more crimes.

"You can be a victim of your own success because, the more crimes you solve the more people report them."

The majority of crimes in Lancashire over 2006/7 were violence against the person (26,791) or criminal damage (37,804).

There were 1,461 sexual offences, 14,531 burglaries and 3,301 drug offences.

Crime has fallen generally. Only vehicle and drug offences increased.

Across England and Wales 5,428,273 crimes were reported to police.

Just 27% were detected in any way, and 13% of offenders were brought before the courts.

Home Office Police Minister Tony McNulty said: "We have seen crime fall by a third over the last decade, in large part thanks to the range of powers available to the police.

"I will continue to work with the police and my counterparts in the Ministry of Justice to deliver efficiency improvements that help officers spend more time where we most want them – on duty on the frontline."

Lancashire Constabulary says, of the crimes detected, 99% end with the offender being dealt with through a conviction of some kind, with more than one in three criminals facing conviction.

Deputy Chief Constable Michael Cunningham said: "We strive to bring as many criminals to justice as possible.

"While a 35% detection rate is much higher than most other places in the country, we recognise there is still a great deal of work for us to do and that we need to continue to provide a quality service to victims of crime.

"Lancashire is one of the safest places in the country to live overall, and these detection rates, while allowing room for improvement, show the Constabulary is performing well above the national average, which I hope gives people a sense of reassurance."