Northumbria Police leads the way when compared to other forces across the country according to the new Police Report Card publicised today by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC).

The Report Card has been welcomed by both Northumbria Police and Northumbria Police Authority, which agrees priorities for policing in Northumbria and ensures that the service provided is high performing and gives value for money.

Northumbria’s unrivalled track record in bringing down crime for the last 15 years is recognised with a grading of “Excellent” for both reducing crime and for solving crimes.

Public confidence in the police shows a solid “Good to Excellent” performance, as does public confidence in all agencies.

Chief Constable Mike Craik welcomed the new measures and said: “The results for Northumbria yet again demonstrate we are one of the top performing forces in the country.

“We have achieved consistent reductions in crime year on year combined with improvements in detection rates and public confidence.

“Our emphasis on providing consistently high standards of service, responsive to the needs of our communities is a winning formula. This success is due to the commitment and dedication of all our officers and staff and the support of our partners and the public.

“However, we are never complacent and are always looking to drive our service forward. That is one of the key reasons for our success.”

Chair of Northumbria Police Authority, Councillor Mick Henry, added; “This report is further evidence of the continuing improvement in policing in the Northumbria area. It is particularly pleasing to see that HMIC have reported very favourably on the low cost to residents of delivering such high quality policing.

“We will continue to work in partnership with the force to ensure that the excellent work done by police officers is continued and also to help improve areas that the report points to for possible improvement – such as the public visibility of policing and the satisfaction of some communities.”

The Police Report Card is a national initiative to provide the public with a straightforward assessment of how their local police are performing.

The force is also recognised for its work in ensuring the Northumbria area does not experience the same problems with gun and knife crime as other parts of the country, with two “Excellent” ratings in these areas.

During challenging economic times this success is achieved against a background of value for money, with the cost of policing to local householders graded as “Low”.

Yet the number of Police Officers and Community Support Officers involved in frontline policing remains “Medium to High”.

The Chief Constable added:  “We have already identified areas for improvement and have comprehensive action plans in place.

“One of these areas is the satisfaction the BME population have in our service when compared to the white population. I am determined to ensure that all our communities feel they receive a consistent and excellent service. At the end of last year we identified a series of operational actions to improve satisfaction and this is being led by a senior police officer.  Recent results show the gap is reducing and we will continue to work to improve this further.

”We also know that some of our community meetings are not as well attended as they could be and are exploring a range of different ways of engaging with the public. For instance, in Newcastle area command we are piloting the idea of holding PACT (Police and Communities Together) meetings online. Early results are very encouraging.”

To find out the full results Visit the www.MyPolice.org.uk for more details.

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