North Wales 'safest' says chief

Clive Wolfendale said he wanted to finish with 'a bit of core business'

The acting chief constable of North Wales Police has used his last blog to claim figures show it is the "safest policing area in England and Wales".

Clive Wolfendale pointed to Home Office and British Crime Survey data listing the force as having the second lowest risks of personal and household crime.

He called his blog, entitled The Final Countdown, a "parting shot".

Mr Wolfendale retires this month to head a drugs and alcohol advisory service for north Wales and Powys.

Also the force's former deputy chief constable, Mr Wolfendale said he wanted his last web diary as a serving police officer to "finish with a bit of core business".

He said that he agreed with the belief that "police work is about fighting crime" and he contrasted and compared the force's position in the Home Office Crime Bulletin produced in July.

The table of rankings demonstrates the change in detection rate for each of the 43 forces in England and Wales for the period 2002/3 to 2008/9.

Mr Wolfendale said: "You will see that North Wales Police recorded the biggest improvement during this period (increasing by 21 percentage points). In fact, the detection rate doubled during the six year time frame."

'Fair claim'

Next, he included a table of Home Office data showing the detection rate for all forces in the 12 months to August this year.

He said: "You will see that North Wales is ranked second. I will also point out that, uniquely, the force has received grades of "excellent" in Audit Commission crime-recording inspections throughout the relevant period."

Finally, he included two British Crime Survey graphs. The first showing the North Wales force area as having the second lowest risk of personal crime such as assaults.

The second showed the Welsh force area as having second lowest risk of household crime such as burglary.

He concluded: "Since different forces occupy first position in each category, it is fair to claim that, according to the survey, North Wales is now the safest policing area in England and Wales.

"If you would like to argue the situation, please take it up with the folks at the Home Office and the British Crime Survey."

'Grand prix ambience'

Mr Wolfendale, who joined the north Wales force in 2001 after 25 years with Greater Manchester Police, became deputy in 2004.

He announced his departure a month before the retirement of the then chief constable, Richard Brunstrom, in July.

Like Mr Brunstrom before him, Mr Wolfendale's blog has occasionally sparked criticism.

In 2006, North Wales Motorcycle Alliance said its phone lines were "red hot" after Mr Wolfendale suggested a ban on bikers in national parks, saying they created a "grand prix ambience".

In 2007, a junior football team manager accused him of "slagging off local community groups" when he labelled young players as litter louts.

Mr Wolfendale, who has learnt Welsh since working in north Wales, has been appointed the next chief executive of the drugs and alcohol advisory service, Cais.