CHESHIRE'S police commissioner has urged the public not to compare the force with the Metropolitan Police when it comes to dealing with complaints against officers.

PCC John Dwyer was questioned by a resident about the police complaints procedure during a recent meeting of Middlewich Town Council.

The resident referred to recent high profile incidents in London and asked: “How can you assure residents that incidences or claims of wrongdoing by officers in Cheshire from members of the public are taken seriously, properly investigated, and that Cheshire Police won’t put protecting the reputation of their force above admitting wrongdoing?”

Mr Dwyer replied: “Any allegations made against our officers are properly dealt with by the professional standards department who investigate to the nth degree and those officers, if found guilty, will be dealt with appropriately.”

He added: “Don’t compare us to the Met. The Met have had unfortunately, over the last couple of years, some real difficulties to face.”

He said when complaints or allegations were made against Cheshire officers: “What we do is absolutely deal with them properly and sort the problem out.”