WHEN I was elected in 2012 I set out clearly my aspiration to ensure Cheshire became one of the safest – if not the safest county – in the country.

That can only happen with the constabulary tackling all those crimes that matter to the residents and businesses of Cheshire, and I’m proud that this continues to be the case.

There have been many recent headlines reporting that forces in other parts of the country won’t be attending burglaries, or will only respond to homes that have ‘even numbers’.

How true are these?

I don’t know, but what I can guarantee is that this isn’t the way we police in Cheshire.

We’ve had tremendous success in tackling the crimes that matter to local people, with the latest official crime statistics showing the lowest levels of criminality for a generation.

Particularly important has been the fall in victim-based crime, including issues like burglary, assaults and robbery.

On August 5 officers arrested three men in connection with burglaries from schools in the Warrington area, while over recent weeks we’ve also seen operations across the county to tackle cross-border criminals (not least serial burglars), and bring those who have evaded justice to book.

At the same time we’ve maintained our commitment to neighbourhood policing, keeping the 220 PCSOs, while getting more officers onto the frontline and recruiting, during the course of this financial year, an extra 53 officers.

And this has been delivered in the face of reduced funding for police forces nationally, of which Cheshire has taken its fair share.

All public services have had to do more with less, and the police are no different.

But it’s meant that we’ve had to take hard decisions: we’ve changed our operating model to make it more efficient, and we’ve reduced our back-office services – and cut administration – to increase investment in the frontline.

Some of this has been challenging for those staff affected, and of course we’re learning lessons and adjusting the way we do things to support to make sure that we can continue to focus on delivering the best services for Cheshire residents.

Working with the Chief Constable, Simon Byrne, I want to reassure all of your readers that we’ll focus on all those crimes that matter to them – including burglaries!

John Dwyer Cheshire Police & Crime Commissioner