Most people have confidence in West Mercia Police, survey shows

But despite the confidence of 83 per cent of people, only 61 per cent say the force is doing a good or excellent job.

The figures come from a 12-month survey of 3,000 West Mercia residents, and also found that 64 per cent agreed or strongly agreed that West Mercia Police understands community concerns.

The survey found 34 per cent believe crime and anti-social behaviour was quite a big or a very big problem.

Police and crime commissioner John Campion said: “In my role as commissioner I am committed to ensuring the voices of local communities are heard and their concerns are acted upon. These results provide a vital indication of where resources and services are working well within Shropshire and whilst it is pleasing to see improvements in police visibility the results also highlight where more development is needed.

“Anti-social behaviour has been identified as a particular concern and one that, in the coming months, will have extra resources allocated into local policing and problem solving teams to combat the issue. I will continue to work with West Mercia Police to ensure concerns like these are listened to and addressed.”

Chief Constable Anthony Bangham said: “The results of this quarter’s survey are very reassuring and we welcome the fact that the majority of our communities across West Mercia are saying they have confidence in their local police.

“However, there is no place for complacency and we remain focused on further improving the service for the residents of Shropshire. We know there is much more we can do, and there are certainly areas of our service delivery we can improve upon. We now look forward to welcoming even more officers to be deployed across the three counties over the coming months to help us become even stronger.

"Policing is about keeping people safe and overall we have achieved some very positive results. Keeping people safe in their homes, communities and on the roads remain our priorities. Together with the Police and Crime Commissioner and our community partners, we will keep working hard to provide all communities in West Mercia with a level of service they both expect and deserve.”