POLICE chiefs in Lancashire are celebrating after the force was today named the country's top performer.

The force, which is led by the Chief Constable, Steve Finnigan, is ranked joint first with Leicestershire out of 43 forces assessed by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabularies (HMIC) for service provided to local communities.

However, Lancashire's Assistant Chief Constable, Chris Weigh, said that there was no time to be “complacent.”

And she added that there was still work to be done to improve their performance in some key areas.

He said: “The Pledge is about the delivery of good services and I am obv-iously delighted with the HMIC grading. And I think that this accurately reflects the hard work we have carried out in Lancashire.

“We are only nine months into implementing the Pledge and whilst we are delivering in most areas, we will not be complacent or stand still.

“We aim to continue to improve the basics.

“That includes answering phones, attending crime sce-nes, responding to emerge-ncies and working with neighbourhoods to agree priorities about crime and policing in local areas. Our reputation for deliv-ering neigbou- brhood polic-ing is second-to-none.

“And mu-ch of the Pledge is delivered through this approach. However, the Pledge isn't just about neigh-bourhood policing.

“This is about all depart-ments and areas of policing working to deliver a top quality service that meets the needs of communities in a truly citizen focused way.

“I am very proud of the result.

“But I am also very clear that the work doesn’t stop here."

Areas of activity specifically highlighted as good practice in the HMIC assessment report included: a drop-in centre for Eastern European members of the community; the creation of one-stop shops to provide enhanced customer service; using community volunteers to enhance neigh-bourhood policing; public-ising neighbourhood teams and their priorities; keeping victims of crime up to date of progress; and introducing Citizen Focus Bureaux to deal with dissatisfaction.