Avon and Somerset Police has received a ‘Good’ rating from the annual HMIC State of Policing Report.

This is the third report from HMIC on Police Effectiveness, Efficiency and Legitimacy (PEEL). The reports are to give the public an idea of how their local police force is performing.

In a statement released on Avon and Somerset Police’s website, Wendy Williams,

Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary, said: “I am very pleased with the overall

performance of Avon and Somerset Constabulary. I am particularly impressed by the force’s comprehensive understanding of the existing demand for its services, which is based on a wide range of information and a sophisticated appreciation of the capacity of the workforce and workload it carries.

“The force is adept at restructuring and modernising its workforce to equip it with the skills to meet future needs. It has achieved this through close alignment of the force’s financial and workforce planning, which has, for example, increased the force’s capacity to investigate child abuse and serious sexual offences.

“I am pleased with the improved effectiveness with which the force keeps the people of Avon and Somerset safe and reduces crime. In particular, the force has improved its response to missing children and domestic abuse and the quality of its investigations.

“Since our inspection in 2014, the force has made concerted efforts to improve the accuracy with which it records crimes and it has made progress in placing the victim at the forefront of crime-recording decisions.

“I welcome the progress made in addressing some of the concerns that were raised by our inspection of police custody.

“In summary, the force provides a good level of service to the people of Avon and

Somerset. I commend them for having maintained and in some respects, improved its performance, since my previous assessment.”