GLOUCESTERSHIRE’S police chief has hit back at a report that says the county’s force ’requires improvement’.

Chief constable Suzette Davenport said the findings do not reflect the constabulary or its officers after HMIC ruled Gloucestershire Police need to improve their effectiveness at keeping crime down and keeping the county’s residents safe.

“I am angry and saddened by HMIC’s report and have spoken to HMI Wendy Williams and urged her to reconsider the grading based on the evidence set out in her own organisation’s report,” she said.

“Crime rates are down year on year in Gloucestershire. This is compared with an increase of 7.8 per cent across all forces in England and Wales over the same period.

“In fact we are below the national rate for sexual offences, assault with injury and burglary in a dwelling.

“The HMIC inspectors criticised our approach to anti-social behaviour but in the 12 months to March 30 2016, Gloucestershire recorded 40 incidents of anti-social behaviour per 1,000 population).

“This is two per cent fewer incidents over the 12 month period. It comes as some forces saw an increase.

“Furthermore, we have seen a vast improvement in our public satisfaction ratings. This is as a result of a huge amount of work by all officers and staff and has taken us from one of the worst performing forces in the country to one of the best.

“I have expressed my concerns to HMIC and would like to publicly point out that this report detracts from our day-to-day policing and forces us to focus on areas determined by HMIC rather than Gloucestershire’s democratically elected Police and Crime Commissioner.

“I will be urging the Home Secretary to clarify which mandate the constabulary should be following, especially if, or when, the two differ.

“As ever, we will look to use the information provided to continue to improve our ability to protect the public and provide a good quality of service which is what motivates me and nearly 1,800 other people to come to work.”