Praise as Northumbria Police is ranked the best force by national crime survey

Northumbrias Police and Crime Commissioner, Dame Vera Baird QC

The reliability of officers was praised by the public, who scored Northumbria Police the highest of all 43 forces for doing a good job, in the latest Crime Survey for England and Wales which looks at community confidence and satisfaction levels.

Dame Vera Baird QC said the results were ‘very encouraging’ for the Force in the face of some of the most ‘severe’ cuts Northumbria Police has experienced.

She said: “It is no surprise that the communities which Northumbria Police serves are confident and supportive of the Force and the work they are doing. It is fantastic to see public confidence and satisfaction is so high which is a central part of my police and crime plan. It is a testament to the resilience of the Force and is very encouraging news despite the struggles severe Government funding cuts have placed on local policing.

“We all know Northumbria has been hit the hardest out of all police forces and has had to make savings and cuts of £136m since 2010 - a real terms reduction in excess of 23%. Despite the huge challenge this has presented – we have managed to protect local policing as best we can – which is an absolute priority for me, and it is nice to see that the public are still so supportive.

“Our police force needs proper Government funding to allow our Chief Constable and police officers to continue delivering a good service to victims – something the people of Northumbria expect and deserve.”

The Crime Survey for England and Wales is a hugely important means for the Government to understand the true level of crime.

The crucial value of the survey is its ability to find out about crimes which do not get reported to, or recorded by, the police.

The survey has previously shown that only 4 in 10 crimes are actually reported to the police, so conducting the survey is incredibly valuable in understanding all of the other crimes which go unreported.

Without the Crime Survey, the government would have no information on these unreported crimes. Typically the Crime Survey records a higher number of crimes than police figures because it includes these unreported crimes.