IT is no wonder property crime is the highest in Gerrards Cross and Beaconsfield.

Those areas have an average house price of £250,000 and a large proportion of homes in excess of £1 million.

Thieves can quite easily see where the money is and know that there haul from a single burglary in that area will be several times what they could hope to gain from an average property in High Wycombe.

But with a Jaguar parked-up in the garage and giant Bang and Oulfsen televisions surely these affluent householders can afford the most sophisticated security systems known to man?

Reporters in the Free Press newsroom are continually told by police of burglaries where criminals have got into a home through an 'insecure' window or door. In other words, a window or door which has not been locked or even closed.

If these basic measures of security are so often being flouted, then there is no wonder thieves feel they have walked into paradise.

But just because it is known where the best places to hit are, it does not mean less should be done to deter crime in that area.

Home Secretary Jack Straw has promised by more bobbies on the beat and we need an immediate greater presence in areas such as Beaconsfield.

Thames Valley Police has seen its budget cut over the last few years and it is no surprise that police are struggling to fight crime.

The other consequence of low police numbers is low police morale. We need the Government to show it's prepared to take the issue seriously or they could well suffer the consequences at the ballot box.