PEOPLE making emergency 999 calls in the Lancaster and Morecambe area are likely to have their pleas answered within 10 seconds, according to national police figures. The police performance indicators - the definitive nationwide survey of police achievement carried out by the Government's Audit Commission - were released last week. They showed that 93 per cent of all 999 calls made in the area are answered within the ten second target. That's an improvement of six per cent on last year. More encouraging news for the area came with the report that Lancashire as a whole has a below average crime rate with the amount of offences committed falling since the performance indicators were last released in 1994. Lancashire Assistant Chief Constable David Smith said: "It is a credit to everybody working for the constabulary that most of the targets are being met and that together we are delivering the best possible quality of service working within the constraints on finance and resource.

"We are, of course, not complacent and these performance indicators are important because they help to show us where we can improve and help support the Chief Constable's commitment to provide the right kind of service to make Lancashire a safer place."

The county's force had set itself a tough target when it came to actually responding to 999 calls. They had said:

"Our aim is to arrive within 15 minutes, succeeding 95 per cent of the time. In the majority we will be there much quicker."

They just missed that objective, coming out with a 94 per cent success rate which was still above the average for similar county forces across the country.

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