West Mercia Police hailed for its 'visible' police style

The comments come amid criticism of some forces across England and Wales for taking police off the streets.

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) praised West Mercia, but said bobbies in some forces are now spending as little as half their time on the beat.

It said frontline officers in some forces were increasingly "tucked away" after being diverted on to tasks such as guarding crime scenes, processing prisoners and staffing front counters rather than pounding the streets.

In one area a reduction in the neighbourhood police presence was followed by a surge in reports of anti-social behaviour.

Meanwhile in some forces there was evidence that PCSOs, who do not have full police powers, were responsible for investigations of low-level crime such as shoplifting, HMIC said.

In a report into the effectiveness of West Mercia Police, HMIC said: "West Mercia Police allocates officers and staff effectively to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour.

"The force recognises the value of dedicated officers and staff working within neighbourhoods to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour.

"To that end it ensures that every local area has a visible and accessible safer neighbourhood team of neighbourhood officers and police community support officers."

It said that PCSOs and neighbourhood officers were rarely abstracted from their neighbourhood roles.

Inspections of forces in England and Wales suggested neighbourhood officers, whose principal function is prevention work and community engagement, are more frequently being removed for short periods from their regular duties to carry out other functions.

The HMIC's Zoe Billingham said some officers estimated that only about 50 per cent of their time was spent in neighbourhoods on preventative duties.

"For the rest of the time they are tucked away, not visible – doing worthy stuff no doubt – but not visible, not doing their core role," she added.

Ms Billingham said forces' good performance in preventing crime could be at risk.

The Shropshire Star revealed on Thursday that inspectors said West Mercia Police needs to do more to "understand the threat and risk from serious and organised crime".

It said the force also needs to improve ways it keeps people safe and reduces crime.

It was also told it required improvement in its approach to protecting vulnerable people as part of the inspection in December 2015.

Inspectors gave an overall grading of "requires improvement".

Assistant Chief Constable Chris Singer, of West Mercia Police, said "Although generally positive, the reports conclude that there is room for improvement in both forces to help keep people safe and reduce crime. We are keen to learn from the reports recommendations and improve further."