Sussex Police is failing to introduce a flagship Home Office blueprint to fight crime street-by-street, the Tories have claimed.

Launching a new policing plan, the Conservatives leapt on new figures showing only five per cent of the county's officers are dedicated to "neighbourhood policing".

That figure falls far short of the proportion on the neighbourhood beat in many other forces, including North Yorkshire (31 per cent), Essex (30 per cent), Cheshire (24 per cent) and West Midlands (19 per cent).

But the force has dismissed the figures, claiming more than a third of officers are working in the community.

Deputy Chief Constable Geoff Williams said: "We have worked hard to establish and develop neighbourhood policing in Sussex, which has been widely recognised.

"We have a dedicated workforce committed to being visible, accessible and responsive whilst working in our communities."

Forces were urged to introduce neighbourhood policing in November 2004, in a police reform white paper launched by former Home Secretary David Blunkett.

The idea was that residents would know the name of their neighbourhood officer, how to contact them and what they were doing to tackle local crime and disorder priorities.

But the Conservatives said forces with less than 10 per cent of officers in neighbourhood roles could not claim a true "commitment" to policing their communities.

David Davis, the shadow home secretary, said: "Despite all the spin and bluster about neighbourhood policing, these figures show the rhetoric far from matches the reality."

Only the Metropolitan Police, in London, had set up neighbourhood teams of one sergeant, two constables and three support officers in every local authority ward, he added.

The figures used by the Conservatives come from a neighbourhood policing analysis published by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) in December.

It showed 43 Sussex sergeants and 119 constables dedicated to the role, out of a force strength of 3,086 - which is just 5.2 per cent.

The Tories blamed the Government for turning police officers into "form-writers, not crime-fighters", cutting the amount of time they spend on the beat.

Sussex Police said in the last 12 months it had added 53 Neighbourhood Specialist Teams (NSTs), dedicated to local communities, to its 43 Neighbourhood Policing Teams (NPTs).

A spokes woman for the force said: "These NPTs and NSTs are made up of 1,204 police officers and 282 PCSOs working in Sussex neighbourhoods.

"Police officers, excluding PCSOs, working in the community represent 34.4 per cent of officers in the force.

"Earlier this year Sussex Police introduced a mini-website so that local people would know the name of their local officers, how to contact them and learn what they are doing to tackle local issues.

"By entering their postcode they are able to obtain a personal profile of their local officers and liaise with them."

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