Welsh police 'report card' to go online

The forces were judged in three overall categories

A "report card" for the four Welsh police forces which grades the different areas of their work will be available to the public to view online.

Examinations by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary found work done by Welsh forces was generally "fair" or "good".

However, South Wales Police received a poor rating for public satisfaction, while the Gwent Police area had the highest levels of violent assault.

The website, www.mypolice.org.uk, is due to go live on Saturday.

It provides comparative statistics in areas such as gun and knife crime, assault, burglary and car crime, as well as showing levels of satisfaction and value for money.

There were three overall categories - local crime and policing, protection from serious harm, and confidence and satisfaction, with each having further sub-divisions.

All four forces were judged either good or fair overall in these areas.

How does your force rate? DYFED-POWYS: Good for local crime and policing Fair for protection from serious harm Fair for confidence and satisfaction GWENT: Fair for local crime and policing Good for protection from serious harm Fair for confidence and satisfaction NORTH WALES: Fair for local crime and policing Fair for protection from serious harm Fair for confidence and satisfaction SOUTH WALES: Fair for local crime and policing Good for protection from serious harm Fair for confidence and satisfaction Source: Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary

South Wales Police was the only force to receive poor ratings in two sub-divisions, public confidence and comparative satisfaction from black and ethnic minorities.

But it received excellent ratings for suppressing gun crime and reducing road deaths and injuries.

North Wales Police, in comparison, did not receive any poor ratings, and was judged to be good or excellent in ethnic minority satisfaction polls, the only Welsh force not to receive a poor rating in this category.

HMIC inspector Dru Sharpling noted that the force continued to suffer "higher numbers of people killed or seriously injured in road accidents" than similar force areas in the UK.

People living in the Gwent force area had lower comparative robbery rates than similar forces, but the highest level of violent assaults in Wales.

It was rated excellent at suppressing knife crime, but poor in ethnic minority satisfaction.

Dyfed-Powys Police was the only force to receive an excellent grade for reducing crime, with the inspector commenting: "The people of Dyfed-Powys think the police are doing a good job."

It was also judged excellent at reducing knife crime.

However the report noted facilities for victims of serious sexual offences needed to be strengthened.

South Wales Police said it had more work to do on improving public confidence in the force.

Public confidence

Chief Constable Peter Vaughan said: "Our aim is to be the best at understanding and responding to the unique needs of our communities.

"We have experienced significant increases in public confidence according to records which reflect the latest six-monthly period.

"This actually reflects a rate of improvement that is one of the best in England and Wales."

Mr Vaughan said he was concerned about the poor rating for black and ethnic minority satisfaction.

"It is pertinent to reassure the public, and especially people from those communities, that these statistics do relate to 2008/2009 and since then the gap in satisfaction has almost halved," he added.

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