A VIOLENT incident in Crewe has been highlighted as showing how crime records in Cheshire can be misinterpreted.

Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire John Dwyer says he welcomes a call to the government by chief constables for a review of the way in which police currently record crimes.

He says a recent public disturbance involving seven people in Crewe was recorded as an affray, which meant each individual was tallied up as having assaulted the others - leaving a total of 42 assaults and one affray to find their way into police crime statistics.

Mr Dwyer says that is because under the current system one crime can have numerous sub-crimes attributed to it.

He cited the Crewe exampled at a recent public scrutiny meeting, because of his concerns over inaccurate reporting of crime.

"The last thing we want to happen here in Cheshire is for the public to get the wrong impression about crime levels and for their confidence in the police to suffer as a result," said the PCC.

"The example I put to the Chief Constable demonstrates the current flaws in the system. Crime should recorded in the most efficient way possible and dealt with accordingly.

"In the first instance it was recorded as an affray, however under that recording, each offender would have an assault tag against the other six attached to the record, meaning there were 42 assaults and one affray, all from the same incident."

As part of his Police and Crime Plan, the Police and Crime Commissioner wants to see accurate reporting to prevent inflation of figures for certain types of crime that do not accurately reflect what has happened.

He added: "I hope the Home Office will conduct a review and find a suitable solution that benefits everyone and improves public confidence in the police."