NEW Home Office figures continue to place Surrey Police among the best forces in the country. Each of England and Waless' 43 police forces are annually inspected and graded by the Police and Crime Standards Directorate and Her Majesty's Inspectorate of constabulary (HMIC). Examined over seven categories, forces receive a running tally for each category. Surrey was one of nine forces to finish third in the table, netting 14 points out of a possible 21 - mirroring last year's haul. The seven criteria examined were: local policing, resource use, reducing crime, investigating crime, promoting safety, providing assistance and citizen focus, which examines public confidence in and satisfaction with policing. The force - based at Guildford's Mount Browne headquarters - was graded "excellent" and "improved" in local policing and resource use, respectively. A force spokesman said Surrey's achievements in neighbourhood policing and community engagement had earned it the top grade for local policing. The force has also announced plans to increase the number of police community support officers currently in circulation, from 160 to 329, by March 2008, adding to the 120 neighbourhood constables already in post. "I am delighted that the results place us as one of the best performing forces in England and Wales and that we are consistently outperforming those forces in similar policing areas," said Chief Constable Bob Quick. "We are continuing to meet our objectives of controlling and reducing crime, responding quickly to the needs of the public, making the people of Surrey feel safe, and providing a confident, modern workforce which delivers a professional service to the community." Jim Smith, chairman of Surrey Police Authority, added: "It is pleasing that local people have been shown to have the highest levels of confidence in their police of any policing area - this is a tribute to a lot of very hard work and dedication." And Mr Smith pointed to good old-fashioned hard work in a year of behind-the-scenes turmoil. "Local people should also be reassured that Surrey Police has been rated as 'good' in protective services including protecting vulnerable people. This is particularly impressive in a year when we had to deal with the distractions of mergers and have been dogged by the financial constraints which means Surrey receives the lowest level of central grant of any force in the country, despite our proximity to London, he said. "Regardless, there is still much work to do," he added. The force's efforts at investigating crime and citizen focus earned Surrey only "fair" and "stable" grades. "The force recognises that further improvement can be made in these two areas," the spokesman added. He added that the British Crime Survey, based on interviews conducted in 2005/06, showed that Surrey residents have the lowest levels of fear of crime in England and Wales. Staffordshire came top of the table, amassing 18 points. Surrey's neighbours, Hampshire and Sussex, were tied on 12 points, with the Thames Valley force, covering Berkshire and Oxfordshire, earning 13 points. Humberside and Northamptonshire forces came bottom of the table, with three points each. l New crime figures: see page 9.
