A damning report by a Sunday newspaper which labelled the Metropolitan Police and Hertfordshire Constabulary and as among the worst in the country has been criticised by the Hertfordshire's chief constable.
The report by The Observer graded the country's police forces in terms of detection rates, complaints, sick leave and response times to incidents and 999 calls. The Metropolitan Police fared badly in the paper's ratings coming out as the second worst in the country.
A spokesman said: "We always strive to improve our performance but when you look at the clear up rates for the most serious offences such as murder or sexual offences we believe they compare favourably with other forces around the country."
Chief Constable Paul Acres was so incensed by his force's rating as in the fourth worst in the country he wrote to the paper. He wrote: "I have difficulty in understanding how you The Observer can assess Hertfordshire which, for example, has the fourth lowest crime rate and the lowest level of violent crime in the country, as one of the worst five forces."
December 5, 2001 18:49
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