Thames Valley Police rated 'poor' at solving crime

Thames Valley Police received a "poor" rating for solving crime

Thames Valley Police has received a "poor" rating for solving crimes in its annual assessment from inspectors.

The Police Report Card by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary gave the force an overall rating of "fair".

The force scored "excellent" in the area of reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured on roads.

Chief Constable Sara Thornton said she was concerned about the grade for solving crime, and it would be a priority for next year.

She added: "Our priorities agreed with the police authority over the last few years have been to reduce crime and improve confidence and satisfaction.

"The report card shows that we are doing just that."

'Improvements made'

In the area of solving crime, the force had a weak detection rate for assaults with less serious injury.

In other areas of detection, it was graded as "fair".

Thames Valley Police said the report was based on performance data that was six months old and improvements had already been made in areas of concern.

The new assessments by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary provide comparative statistics in areas such as gun and knife crime, assault, burglary and car crime, as well as showing levels of satisfaction and value for money.

There were three overall categories - local crime and policing, protection from serious harm, and confidence and satisfaction, with each having further sub-divisions.

Reports on 43 police forces were due to go live on Saturday on the website, mypolice.com.