POLICE forces in the region are continuing to provide a good service despite having to cut costs, inspectors say.

Cleveland Police is making excellent progress while Durham and North Yorkshire are making good progress to make savings while protecting the number of front-line roles, according to HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC).

In its annual report, HMIC said Cleveland Police had seen one of the biggest reductions in police officer numbers in the country and was on track to achieve its required savings of £31m.

However, inspectors found it had still managed to reduce crime since 2010, although at a lower rate than other forces.

Roger Baker, HM Inspector of Constabulary for the northern region, said: “Cleveland Police has made excellent progress in getting itself into a secure financial position.

"It is working hard to reduce costs and to deliver a value-for-money service to its local communities.

"Cleveland is making good use of partnerships and collaboration to ensure that savings are being made without damaging the service to the public.

"Cleveland Police is well placed to face the future financial challenges.”

Durham Constabulary was also found to be well placed to manage further austerity in the future, Inspectors said, adding that the force had delivered savings ahead of schedule and was well placed to face future challenges.

The report added that the force had increased the proportion of officers working on the front-line and had provided a good quality service to communities by delivering high levels of crime detection and victim satisfaction.

North Yorkshire Police was on target to achieve its required savings of £16m between 2010 and 2015, the report concluded.

Inspectors said the force had worked hard to retain police officer numbers with only a 6 per cent reduction in the number of police officers and had successfully increased the proportion of officers in front-line roles.