LANCASHIRE Constabulary has today been named the country's top-performing police force.

It's good news for the force and good news for people living in the area it polices.

Inspectors judged the force as "excellent" or "good" in 15 out of 16 categories, including the way it deals with hate crimes and how it works with local councils to try and reduce crime.

Chief Constable Paul Stephenson must take some of the credit for bringing in a range of ideas which have produced results.

A crackdown on the drug trade, called Operation Nimrod, is just one of the initiatives to have reaped dividends, bringing more than 500 drug-related prosecutions in two years.

Today's announcement may go some way to reassuring an increasingly sceptical and worried public who perceive crime to be at a much higher level than it actually is.

But Lancashire police bosses are the first to admit that the force should not be complacent about its placing in this "league table".

Mr Stephenson has said there is still a lot more work to be done before the public once has again has a high level of faith in the police.

Because league tables and government targets do not always give us the full picture of what people think about their public services.

We are glad Mr Stephenson won't be resting on his laurels and will strive to carry on making improvements.