POLICE responses to the same type of crime will differ depending on where you live, a new report has found.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) examined all 43 police forces in England and Wales and found there exists a ‘postcode lottery’ when it comes to how forces responded to reports of crime.

In the period covered by the Core Business report – the 12 months to November 30, 2013 - forces in the North East and North Yorkshire recorded a high attendance rate to all incidents closed as crimes and directly recorded crime.

Cleveland Police reported a 100 per cent rate of attendance, followed by Durham at 96 per cent and North Yorkshire at 84 per cent.

However, the attendance rate for forces such as Warwickshire and Dorset were close to half of that at 39 and 54 per cent respectively.

HMI Roger Baker, who led the inspection, said: “Police forces have done a good job in tackling crime and anti-social behaviour, leading to long-term reductions over the last ten years.

“However, we were concerned to find that a member of the public will receive a different response from the police for the same type of crime or incident, depending on where they live; this sort of postcode lottery has to stop and a consistent approach applied across England and Wales.

He added: “In this age of austerity it’s more important than ever that forces understand how to prioritise their resources.”

The report makes 40 recommendations to help police forces improve, including more uniformity over the classification of victims and better use of mobile technology.