WEST Mercia's police and crime commissioner says he cannot "guarantee" front line jobs will all be safe during his tenure.

John Campion has taken part in a detailed Q&A at Worcester City Council to lift a lid on his future plans.

During a long grilling, he said:

- He expects not to cut front line police jobs but would be "foolish" to offer an absolute guarantee

- Too many crimes, including hate offences, are going unreported due to too much "apathy" among the public

- He is fighting hard to get a better funding deal for West Mercia Police and only last week had talks with minister Brandon Lewis

- He'd be "up for having a discussion" about improving Worcester's CCTV, as long as any capital investment from him helps reduce running costs

- He wants more officers to stay out on the beat using mobile technology and has just launched a pilot in Evesham

During the session, which took place during a scrutiny committee meeting, he was challenged by Green Councillor Neil Laurenson to "offer assurances" police officer numbers would stay the same.

"I'd expect, in my mind that the number of police officers will stay the same during my time but I can't guarantee that, I'd be foolish too," he said.

"But it's also about the right amount of funding - my commitment is that they will stay, I think, roughly the same, but I also think we'll provide the right level of resource."

Councillor Roger Knight said: "The only complaints I get is about a lack of police visibility, and I always say 'well if you see more police about that'll be because of an increase in crime, they tend to respond to need'.

"But nonetheless visibility is an issue, what are your thoughts on it?"

Mr Campion said: "I use the analogy of our PCs and PCSOs being on bits of elastic, the amount they have to report back to the station.

"Imagine at this council if your officers had to report back to the Guildhall every time something happened.

"We need to make greater use of technology, that's why I've rolled out an initiative in Evesham where officers get smart phones and laptops, it's not cutting edge technology but it makes a difference."

After a question from Councillor Marc Bayliss, the scrutiny chair, about CCTV he told the committee he'd be up for talks about it.

Mr Campion also repeatedly criticised the force's IT systems, saying it compares badly even to local government, and during questioning on money hit out at the unfairness in funding compared to the West Midlands.

"People in the West Midlands get a dramatically higher per-head level of funding while paying less in council tax, while in West Mercia we pay more in council tax and get less funding per-head," he said.

"Nationally, I think how that funding is divided out needs looking at."

He praised the force for its "ingenuity" in "squeezing every ounce" from the policing service but also admitted to councillors not every penny was well spent across the organisation.

"I get around £205 million of funding for West Mercia and I don't believe, hand on heart, that all that delivers value for money," he said.