Dave said: “How to twist the real story. Police leaders and the police Federation have been transparent with the public, and have highlighted concerns pertaining to the consequences of public sector cutbacks.

“It’s wrong for the media to discredit the police service by using headlines like ‘failing’.

“Yes, police forces throughout the country have struggled with competing demands, but this is because of cutbacks, meaning reduced police officers and police staff.

“Certainly in my force, I believe we have a strong relationship with the public, because of engagement and partnership working.

“The public know why all public services have had difficulties since 2010. It’s not because public sector employees are any less committed, it’s really simple: there are is just a lot less off us.”

See the full HMICFRS report here https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/…/noticeable-diffe…/

In the report, HMIC Matt Parr said the public had "rumbled" that the police do not have the capacity to deal with common crimes, such as burglaries or car crime, and have given up reporting incidents to police.

"I think particularly in the volume crime area the public has rumbled that the police capacity to deal with this is extremely limited."

Mr Parr added: "There are some strikingly low figures about car crime resolution, meaning most of the public simply give up reporting it because the chances of anything positive happening are so slim."

"The country is just short of investigators," he said. "There's lots of forces that haven't got enough detectives - therefore, very often, crimes aren't allocated to the right people to investigate."