LANCASHIRE Chief Constable Pauline Clare today pledged to tackle the huge problem of police officers taking early retirement on the day it was revealed crime rates in the county are plunging.

Following a week of publicity over police officers leaving the force early with "health" grounds Mrs Clare told the Lancashire Evening Telegraph that her force is well on the way to dealing with the problem and said that she would not let officers retire early with exagerated or invented health problems.

The chief constable spoke of her satisfaction with constabulary's performance over the last 12 months as she launched her annual report.

Last year saw the biggest fall in crime rates during her time in Lancashire.

Mrs Clare has also announced the police have managed to hit nearly all their Home Office targets and a series of initiatives has been successfully launched.

The Chief Constable 's annual report contains a complete rundown of the police force's achievements over the past year.

Crimes rates in Lancashire fell by 7.9 per cent last year, more than any other force in the country and set against a Home Office target of six per cent.

The estimated cost of sick leave in Lancashire looks set to cost the force £8million by the end of the year.

And this week the national problem of officers leaving on health grounds a few years before they qualify for normal retirement, in a bid to secure the benefits of medical pensions, has been highlighted. Mrs Clare added: "We are well aware there is a problem with sick leave, which is fairly typical of the emergency services. There are measures in place to deal with the situation and we have been able to reverse the number of officers who leave the force with medical pensions."

The upturn follows a difficult period for the police force which culminated in a highly critical Government inspector's report.

Mrs Clare said: "It has been a busy year for the constabulary's staff with a number of new challenges to add to the already heavy workload.

"This year we have dealt with the Millennium weekend, a tight focus on performance and on our "problem-oriented" policing philosophy, the start of work on a new community and race relations strategy and preparations for new legislation on best value and human rights."

The chief constable added: "A particular priority for me has been our work to make the the force more representative of the diverse communities we police."