ASK any of the 925 home burglary victims in Nottingham between April and May and they will say that the emotional impact and disruption to life it causes makes it a traumatic crime.

But there were 148 more burglaries than in the same period of 2009.

This 19 per cent year-on-year rise would be a concern under normal circumstances – but is even more worrying given that making significant inroads into house burglaries was meant to be one of Notts Police's priorities during Operation Arrow.

The three-month operation, which ended on June 30, saw scores of extra officers made available from the force's HQ and from specialist policing units to help colleagues dealing with burglary, robbery and certain violent offences, while increasing crime-solving rates. It aimed at getting force crime levels in line with its most similar forces in England and Wales in response to criticism from Government inspectors.

Now figures provided by the Nottingham Crime & Drugs Partnership covering the 20 city council wards show just how badly their efforts to combat burglary in Nottingham failed.

Clifton North house burglaries are up 90 per cent, to 38 from 20; and Bestwood has seen a 72 per cent rise, to 86 from 50.

In Basford, there was a 67 per cent rise to 80 from 48, and there was also a 67 per cent rise in Bilborough, to 47 from 28.

Further notable house burglary rises were the 56 per cent rise in Berridge ward (which includes Hyson Green, Bobbers Mill and Forest Fields), to 72 from 46; and a 69 per cent rise in Dales ward (which includes Sneinton and parts of St Ann's), to 49 from 29.

In total, there were rises in 12 of the 20 city council wards.

Responding to the figures, Nottingham City Division Commander, Chief Superintendent Dave Walker said: "We will do research and analysis to see what we can learn from this and find out just what the aggravating factors are that have led to more homes being burgled.

"But we already know some of them, one of the main reasons being insecure homes – doors and windows left open or unlocked.

"Thieves are opportunistic and they will target easy pickings. It is why we will continue to hammer home the message that people can protect their property by taking simple security measures.

"It is small consolation to those people who have become victims but it is important to keep these statistics in context. There are more than 130,000 residential addresses in Nottingham and your chances of becoming a victim of burglary are still extremely small.

"Crime in Nottingham has fallen significantly over the past few years and that includes house burglaries.

"Earlier in the summer we held a burglary summit with key partners across the city looking at what more we can do to tackle the problem and discuss our future tactics.

"That is already making a difference."

What will provide comfort to Mr Walker and other senior city officers is the 8 per cent fall in overall crime between April 1 and June 30 this year.

Assistant Chief Constable Paul Broadbent said changes introduced this month would make an impact on how burglary was tackled.

He said: "Chief Superintendent Simon Nickless and Detective Chief Superintendent Ian Waterfield, the force's head of crime and intelligence, have been out on divisions checking out what we are doing to exploit opportunities to gather forensic evidence, such as fingerprints and DNA, from burglary scenes and identify individual burglars for multiple offences.

"A week ago we introduced five new dedicated intelligence officers in our force control rooms. They will provide officers called to reports of a burglary and other serious acquisitive crime, such as robbery, with information about other recent offences in the area and details of potential suspects for the crime they are dealing with."

Notts Police renewed efforts to reduce burglary come after the force said it would be looking to save £45 million over three years from 2011-12 in response to the Government's public-sector cuts.

During a Notts Police Authority performance and policing committee meeting yesterday, independent member Simon Holdaway said that the amount Notts Police spends investigating each burglary was at the "cheap end" of the scale compared to other forces, and added: "What you're saying is that we need to spend more cash – but the pressure [to the force] is on cost reduction."

The force is also reviewing the link between burglaries and drugs.

NOTTS Police Authority chief executive Simon Hobbs will leave his post this month after six years.

A statement from the authority released yesterday said: "It has been agreed that it is in the best interest of all parties that a change in management arrangements at the police authority now takes place. Authority members wish Simon the best for the future."

Speculation grew after Mr Hobbs did not return as planned in April this year from a six-month secondment to the National Policing Improvement Agency.