A POLICE watchdog says Thames Valley Police needs more officers in its child abuse investigation team, but rated its overall effectiveness “Good”.

An inspection by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary said the force was good across the board for preventing crime, protecting vulnerable people, investigations and tackling organised crime.

But it found the force to lack some capacity in the child abuse investigation team would affect the “quality of service it aspires to for this very vulnerable group of victims”. 

It added: “The capacity in the child abuse investigation unit has not kept pace with the increasing workload.”

Inspector Zoe Billingham said she was pleased with the effectiveness of TVP and that lack of officers in the child abuse investigation team was a “minor” point.

She added: “We found one of the teams had a really high workload and there weren’t enough officers at that time.

“We have let the force know about it, but this is a really good result for TVP.

"They are ahead of the curve for tackling child sexual exploitation and other sexual offences, which have increased in the past few years, which is also good because it shows more people are reporting it.

"The only minor issues in terms of the report was that the workforce was stretched. But overall TVP is a doing well.”

Ms Billingham said the force used its experience from Operation Bullfinch – the prosecution of seven Oxford men for child sex offences – when investigating other child sexual exploitation cases.

Thames Valley Police said it was pleased with the report and was planning to create 28 jobs to deal with the increase in demand for child abuse investigations.

Chief Constable Francis Habgood said: “I am pleased that Thames Valley Police has been graded as good in all areas of this HMIC report.

“The report recognised that Thames Valley Police has a strong focus on providing a good service to victims through an established commitment to neighbourhood policing.

“It is heartening to be recognised for the work that we do, but we will continue to strive to do better and take on board the HMIC’s suggested areas for improvement."