I WOULD like to correct the assertion made by Clr Shingler in the Guardian August 13.

The Chief Constable did not report that recorded crime in Cheshire is down, in fact he reported that it was up. This is due to two reasons - a change in the way the Home Office records minor incidents and the fact that more people are calling us.

Calls from the Northwich area are now received at our call handling bureau at Warrington. Staff there currently answer over 92 per cent of those calls with an average answering time of 50 seconds.

I would always encourage the public to report crime to us as this is the only way we will develop the fullest possible picture of what is going on. Indeed, those of your readers who regularly attend police forums will know that I personally encourage those present to report incidents and crimes to us.

Prior to the call handling bureau at Warrington receiving our calls - when we had particular difficulties in coping with the volume of calls made to our Northwich control room - we put voicemail facilities in place at each of our Community Action Team offices to enable us to capture information relating to persistent, but non-urgent, problems.

The Chief Constable did make the point that the British Crime Survey, which regularly asks a random sample of the public whether they have been victims of crime, has reported that the true level of crime has actually fallen over the past five years. In particular, house burglary and vehicle crime have shown significant reductions. This is to be welcomed.

Cheshire officers are making more and more arrests, which is why we need the new custody facilities proposed for Middlewich.

Like Clr Shingler, I am concerned at the level of anti-social behaviour in Weaverham. Together with Sgt Vince Morrison, members of his Community Action Team and community wardens, we are working with the parish council to deal with this problem - but we will need the help of local people to come forward and name the small number of individuals who are responsible.

Frankly, there is also a need for certain parents to take a closer interest in what their youngsters are up to. If Clr Shingler would like to spend some time in the company of Sgt Morrison and his team so that he can gain first hand experience of what we are doing, I would be delighted to arrange this.

SUPT TIM JACKSON

Divisional Commander, Congleton and Vale Royal Division