CHIEF Constable Tim Brain says there are no plans to cut the number of police officers in the Forest of Dean. It follows last week's Review story in which fears were expressed that 10 officers were to be transferred.

In a reassurance message to Forest residents Mr Brain said a force review of the Inspector Neighbourhood Area policing model was being undertaken but did not include proposals to reduce the number of officers in either the Forest North, run from Cinderford, or the Forest South, run from Coleford.

Mr Brain said: "This review is intended to ensure that best practice is spread across the county to the benefit of all our communities.

"There are no plans to reduce the number of police officers in the Forest of Dean area in the current circumstances."

The Forest is policed by 75 officers permanently stationed in the area who provide 24-hour cover seven days a week.

Police officers and staff from Gloucester, as well as specialist units, such as the Gemini teams, the Divisional Support Group, the Road Policing Unit, force dog handlers, drug squad, the Crime Management Unit, also regularly work in the Forest on specific incidents, supporting local officers.

These groups have recently been used in operations such as one which saw multiple arrests made following the raid of a public house in Cinderford earlier this year and, more recently, the operation which saw three people arrested and 15 kilos of cannabis seized in Woodcroft two weeks ago.

Superintendent Terry Seville, commander of the Forest and Gloucester Division, said the INAs reflected the local authority boundaries but put no restriction on operational policing.

"If police officers in the Forest are already busy and a serious incident occurs, we send officers from other areas.

"The force is separated into Inspector Neighbourhood Areas for community and operational purposes but those boundaries have no real meaning when it comes to response policing and reacting to incidents. If officers are available from another INA they will be sent."

Current figures show that 90 per cent of all 999 calls made in the Forest are being attended by officers within the recognised target time of 20 minutes for a rural area – and many are responded to far quicker than that.

And to help keep operational officers patrolling the area, a new facility was launched in the division last summer – the Prisoner Processing Unit.

Based at Gloucester Central Police Station the unit deals with prisoners arrested by operational officers and prepares evidence files – allowing the officer to return to front line policing duties, instead of spending hours on paperwork.

Officer safety is a priority for the force and to help improve communications both in the Forest of Dean and county-wide the new 'Airwave' radio system is due to be introduced, giving officers latest state-of-the-art radio technology.

Forest officers also carry mobile telephones as an alternative to radio contact in areas of poor reception.

Supt Seville said: "We do have procedures in place to ensure that if officers are going into areas where radio coverage is weak they inform the control room so regular checks can be carried out on to ensure their safety."

Crime statistics for the Forest of Dean show offences have decreased over the last two years – with 163 less crimes reported between April 1 and December 6, 2001 than the same period the previous year.

Supt Seville added: "Our officers in the Forest have worked very hard to achieve these reductions and, at the same time, they have increased their detection rate.

"We do listen and appreciate the public's concern over policing, particularly in isolated rural areas. However, the public perception of our performance is very different to the reality. We are providing a very efficient and quality service with the resources we have available and are one of the top performing forces in the country in many service areas.

"Communities in the Forest should be reassured that they are receiving a high level of policing from some very dedicated officers which makes the Forest still a very safe place to live and work."