POLICE chief Shaun Wright has branded the performance of the South Yorkshire force as ‘unacceptable’.
The force is one of the worst five in the country in terms of overall crime per 1,000 residents and second and third worst for burglary and vehicle offences.
The overall crime rate is falling but Mr Wright said the South Yorkshire force ‘must do more and do it faster’ to improve performance across a number of areas, including crime reduction.
He said: "Despite the pressure on budgets of reduced government funding, I have maintained financial support to the force to avoid it having to reduce officers at the same rate other forces have had to.
"It's extremely disappointing and frustrating that other forces continue to perform better. I have done my best to provide the force with the financial resources it needs to achieve the objectives I have set.
"Real transformational change is required to shape the future operating model of the force and that change is not happening fast enough.
"The force needs to step up to the mark, do more and do it faster. I have made it clear to the Chief Constable that I want to see improvements and I want to see them fast."
