SUSSEX's police chief has said there is no point in officers visiting victims of crime in person.

The county's most senior police officer said it would be an "awful lot more convenient" for victims of crime to be dealt with by email and also said that the public should expect to wait seven minutes for their calls to be answered.

Mr York said in an interview with a Sunday newspaper: " ‘what’s the purpose of us going there. If it’s just to because the individual wants to see us, is that really the best use of policing time and investigation time?

"I hope they would explain that someone coming around isn’t going to add any value to your investigation, and actually that person’s time is better spent trying to find the offender than reassuring you.’

"It can often be an awful lot more convenient for people to have a service delivered by email or by text rather than having the commitment of a face-to-face meeting.’

"Non-emergency calls, I think, is another definition entirely. When I last went into my control room, they said, 'It’s really busy today, we’re really struggling.' But do you know what the average wait time was to have a non-emergency call answered? Seven minutes. Which I think for non-emergency calls isn’t long. I’ve had worse experiences phoning some big corporations."

Mr York has been subjected to recent criticisms that he has not been present to answer questions over serious failings within the force.

Meanwhile the force has banned the media from asking questions over weekends where they deem that "there is not an immediate need to advise the public or to seek assistance in police enquiries or operations".

The Argus has contacted Sussex Police and Giles York for comment.