LANCASHIRE Constabulary was today named as the best in England and Wales, coming top in a new national assesment.

After the six-month grading carried out by Her Majesty's Inspectors of Constabulary (HMIC), the force was classed as 'excellent' or 'good' in 15 of 16 categories - more than any other force and placing it at the leading edge of policing.

No official league table was produced as categories were not given weitings for importance.

But the force was judged as excellent for a range of categories, including the way it deals with hate crimes and how it works with local councils to try and reduce crime.

The force has received national acclaim from Home Office inspectors for a number of crime fighting initiatives including county-wide drugs crackdown Operation Nimrod which is tackling the supply of Class A drugs.

In just two years of the operation more than 500 drug-related prosecutions have resulted in over 1,000 years of prison sentences being handed out to offenders.

This was backed up by the Tower Project, a 'treat or target' initiative aimed at targeting persistent offenders addicted to drugs.

Chief Constable Paul Stephenson said he was extremely proud of the constabulary's achievement and said he hoped people in the county would feel reassured by the fact their police force was among the best.

He said: "There is an opportunity here to commend the police in Lancashire for their hard work and to reassure the communities that the improvements to services we are making year on year are making a real impact.

"However, we must not and will not be complacent in light of this announcement and will continue to strive towards excellence and an even better quality of service."

Lancashire Police Authority chairman Ruth Henig, Baroness of Lancaster, said: "It is really good news to hear that the constabulary's performance has been recognised as excellent by the HMIC. The Police Authority congratulates the chief constable, officers and staff."

Lancashire Constabulary has more than 3,300 police officers and almost 1,600 police staff responsible for policing Lancashire's 1.5million population and 500,000 households.

No force's performance was bad enough to merit the Home Secretary using new powers to sack chief constables and send in Home Office officials to run operations.

Table of the 16 assessment areas

Tackling Level 2 Criminality - GOOD

Volume Crime - GOOD

Hate Crime - EXCELLENT

Reassurance - GOOD

Call Handling - GOOD

Roads Policing - GOOD

Critical Incidents - EXCELLENT

Forensic Management - GOOD

Leadership & Direction - EXCELLENT

Strategic Management - EXCELLENT

Performance Management - EXCELLENT

Human Resource Management - GOOD

Professional Standards - EXCELLENT

Race & Diversity - GOOD

Crime & Disorder Reduction Partnership Work - EXCELLENT

Criminal Justice - FAIR