CRIME victims will get a fairer deal from police in Avon and Somerset, a senior officer has pledged.

Deputy Chief Constable Gareth Morgan’s comments come as the force is judged the third worst at recording crime.

Police in Avon and Somerset fail to log 33% of offences, a survey by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary shows – the national average is 19%.

HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary said nationwide hundreds of thousands of victims are denied justice by “inexcusably poor” crime recording.

He said: “The first duty of the police is to protect the public and reduce crime.

“This is not about numbers and dry statistics; it’s about victims and the protection of the public.”

His report said around half of the 43 forces in England and Wales made errors in recording rapes, while 800,000 offences, including a third of violent crimes, are not logged, one in five officers feel pressured to not record a crime and almost a million 999 calls are ignored annually.

It concluded: “A number of forces accepted that undue performance pressure had adversely affected crime recording in the past and the culture of chasing targets as ends in themselves had distorted crime recording decisions.”

Avon and Somerset’s Deputy Chief Constable Gareth Morgan said the force accepted the findings.

He added: “We have been working to address the issues identified in the report since we agreed to participate in the pre-inspection process over 12 months ago.

“In the midst of the HMIC’s findings, they found no evidence that officers and staff felt pressured to act unethically or inappropriately.

“In addressing the recommendations in this report, Avon and Somerset Constabulary will be focusing on the systems and processes which support the recording of crime alongside addressing the culture and values of the service to provide the best possible service to the public.

“I am confident that we have begun to put in place the necessary actions to deliver the required changes and expect a significant improvement in performance over the next six months.”

The worst force is Hampshire, where 60% of crime is logged, followed by Merseyside (66%) and Avon and Somerset (67%) - the top force is West Midlands (99%).

Adam Pemberton, assistant chief executive of Victim Support said: “The sheer number of crimes that have been dismissed by the police is alarming.

“Each mistake represents a victim losing their chance to get justice and support.”