STAFFORDSHIRE Police is one of the few forces in the country successfully tackling anti-social behaviour.

There has been widespread national criticism of the way constabularies deal with nuisance behaviour.

Dennis O'Connor, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabularies, said the failure to properly record complaints undermined confidence in the police and called for urgent improvements.

But his report on forces in England, made public this week, singles out Staffordshire Police for praise in the way it deals with anti-social behaviour.

The report states: "Anti-social behaviour is a top operational priority and staff are clearly aware of its importance.

"All calls for assistance and the police response are monitored on a daily basis; all victims are called back within 24 hours to check on service quality."

The report also notes that officers strive to attend all anti-social behaviour incidents within an hour.

Statistics show that incidents of anti-social behaviour are down by 17 per cent in the county, year-on-year to the end of February – with 9,639 fewer incidents.

Assistant Chief Constable Mick Harrison said: "Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority and will continue to be as it is one of the most important issues to our communities."

However, as revealed in Wednesday's Sentinel, Staffordshire Police was criticised in the HMIC report for not solving enough crimes.