A new top policeman has said better communication between the force and the public will help reduce people's fears about crime.

Chief Supt Rob Potts, new divisional commander in south Manchester, said one of his priorities is to improve perceptions of anti-social behaviour and drug dealing in the area.

Latest GMP figures show 10 per cent of people in south Manchester think there is a high-level of anti-social behaviour on their streets, while one in five say drug dealing is a big issue.

Around 75pc of people say they are pleased with the work officers do.

Chf Supt Potts said he wanted to raise public confidence in the police’s ability to tackle the issues that affect them most.

“It’s about making people safer and making them feel safer too,” he added.

“We want to work with the community, listen to what they are telling us and make sure we feed back so people understand the actions we are taking.

“We have not always been good at that. We have been taking action but not communicating it back.

“In the past we thought we knew better and have not really listened to the community, but it's getting much better now.”

Chf Supt Potts, who has worked for GMP for 17 years, said his division also wanted to continue to improve on the reduction of burglary, robbery and vehicle crime.

According to figures, burglary was down 22pc, robbery 10pc and vehicle crime 27pc over the past year in south Manchester.

“I’m pleased with those reductions but we can obviously reduce that further,” Chf Supt Potts added.

“People want their area to be right, safe and clean for them and their families to grow up in. We want to help improve their quality of life.”