SERIOUS challenges lie ahead for policing, warns Police and Crime Commissioner Angus Macpherson in his annual report today.

Looking back over 2015-16, Mr Macpherson notes that policing, like all public services, is continuing to undergo rapid change.

The commissioner, who was re-elected for a second term in May, holds Wiltshire Police's chief constable to account for delivering the priorities set out in Mr Macpherson’s Police and Crime Plan.

"The changing and increasingly complex demand on services, the need for better care of vulnerable victims and continued financial restrictions present a real challenge to how services are resourced, structured and delivered,” he sayd in his report.

“I believe we are making good progress in delivering my Police and Crime Plan, delivering an effective and efficient police service and beginning to make improvements to the criminal justice system in Wiltshire and Swindon.”

Mr Macpherson says that, during the year under review, he and Chief Constable Mike Veale overhauled the performance culture of Wiltshire Police after agreeing that arbitrary targets introduced “perverse incentives and distrust of police services”.

The Commissioner says recording crime accurately is fundamental to police officers’ understanding of crime and their response to it

“I want all victims of all crime to have confidence that the police will listen and record crimes accurately,” he says.

Mr Macpherson anticipates that crimes recorded by police will continue to rise in 2016-17, but at a slower rate in the year under review, as compliance with Home Office crime recording policy continues to improve.

The Commissioner says he will continue to seek assurance from the Chief Constable that recording compliance is improving.

Reviewing specific crime types, Mr Macpherson says the increase in sexual offences of 14.1 per cent in the year under review is partly due to increased confidence among victims in both crime reporting and police services once such a crime has been reported.

He says: “The improved quality of crime recording has influenced the recording of sexual offences.

"The increased awareness and confidence to report following the Jimmy Savile scandal, numerous public inquiries and shocking evidence of child sexual exploitation in Rochdale and Oxford has also empowered more victims to come forward.”

Turning to the eventual outcome of various crimes - be it charge, caution or community resolution – the Commissioner says the outcomes for some offences are not at the level he expects.

In 2015-16 the outcome rate for house burglaries in Wiltshire was 6.1 per cent which equates to 80 in 1,318 crimes: “This is significantly lower than the peer group average of 13.8 per cent and lower than the national rate of 9.5 per cent.

“Using targets to increase outcome rates has led to incorrect crime recording, inappropriate use of community resolutions and inappropriate police targeting of crime types. I have asked the Chief Constable to review this area and … improve outcome rates without distorting performance”.

Turning to diversity, Mr Macpherson says: “Wiltshire Police must do more to reflect the community it serves.”

He warns that failure to do so undermines the principles set out by Sir Robert Peel, the founder of modern policing, under which officers are regarded as citizens in uniform who operate by consent.

He goes on: “I have approved investment to deliver a range of improvements to recruitment, policy and staff training and development. The Chief Constable is working with staff associations and independent experts to ensure that police policies, procedures and culture support this aim.”

The Commissioner believes that Wiltshire Police is in a good financial position with strong financial management, but he is clear that financial pressures will continue.

He notes that Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) has rated Wiltshire Police as “good” for efficiency, effectiveness and legitimacy for the second year running.

Mr Macpherson writes: “This strong external and independent validation of the quality of services supports my own assessment that Wiltshire Police is a well-led organisation.”

But he adds: “The HMIC and I have highlighted areas where Wiltshire Police and its partners can improve, including protecting vulnerable and missing children; compliance with the best use of stop and search; ensuring the Force meets its public expectations and ensuring that Wiltshire and Swindon has a police service that reflects the community it serves.”

Turning to future challenges, Mr Macpherson observes: “The threats from crime… are changing and Wiltshire Police needs to balance the complex demands that are placed on it.

“Protecting people from fraud, violence and cyber crime is presenting new challenges in how public agencies prevent, investigate and prosecute. I need to be assured that my priorities and resources are matched against the threats and risks we face.

“During 2016-17 when I refresh my Police and Crime Plan I will take advice from the Chief Constable on the priorities that require focus and I will balance resources accordingly.”

On central government funding Mr Macpherson says: “Wiltshire receives the second lowest share of Home Office funding for police per head of population.

"This is unfair and is reinforced by a police funding formula that does not recognise that areas with low crime still require adequate resource to police.

“The formula is due to be reviewed in 2016-17. I will be lobbying MPs and ministers to address this unfairness and for a more reliable funding that takes the needs of Wiltshire and Swindon into account.”

The Commissioner pays tribute to those serving in the force saying: “I am inspired and humbled by the commitment of Wiltshire Police officers and staff to public service and the risks they take to protect our communities.”