Poor methodology renders result invalid

The methodology of this assessment is a technocratic nonsense. The number of people involved is far too narrow for any meaningful conclusions to be drawn. Surveying less than 250 people, which equates to around 20 a month, makes a mockery of being representative considering the fact we have thousands of victims of crime on a monthly basis. The supposed gap in satisfaction could have been influenced by just three people, which illustrates how utterly inadequate this assessment is.

Marian FitzGerald, Visting Professor of Criminology at the University of Kent and formerly head of race relations research in the Home Office has also expressed serious concerns about the validity of this measure.

She said: "There are major differences between Avon and Somerset and the other forces with which it is compared. This also casts doubt on the validity of inter-force comparisons.

"It is well established that confidence and satisfaction with the police varies considerably between different minority groups. So the crude BME results for any one area are likely to vary according to the specific ethnic make-up of the BME population in question."