POLICE need to regain the respect of the public to help increase the number of crimes they solve, a retired bobby has claimed.

Philip Haynes, a former officer in Witney, said officers must remain “aloof” and “different from the ordinary person” if they wanted to catch more criminals.

Earlier this month, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary criticised Thames Valley Police’s record on catching criminals – particularly violent ones – and rated its success at solving crime as poor, the lowest possible mark.

Oxfordshire officers solved 2,400 fewer crimes in 2009-10 than they did in 2008-9, with the detection rate falling from 25.9 per cent to 22.5 per cent of reported crimes.

Deputy Chief Constable Francis Habgood said the force had been failing to focus on detection and said too much emphasis was put on cutting crime and in-creasing public confidence.

The report supported Mr Hapgood’s claim that overall crime was down in the county and said the force’s record on cutting road deaths and injuries was excellent. The force’s overall rating from the inspectorate was fair.

Following the report, Mr Haynes delved into his old police records, which he saved along with other memorabilia when Oxfordshire Constabulary was replaced by the Thames Valley force in 1968.

He found a file on detection rates for Oxfordshire – excluding Oxford, which had its own city police until 1968 – for 1918, which were signed by the then chief constable Douglas Roberts.

The documents show that in many areas of the county, more than 80 per cent of reported crimes were solved.

In the village of Chadlington, between Charlbury and Chipping Norton, police recorded detection rates of 93 per cent, while in the area known as Bampton West, the figure was 82 per cent.

The 75-year-old, who was a police officer for 31 years, said: “People respected police officers an awful lot back then. They thought they couldn’t tell them lies.

“These days the police don’t have the respect that they used to have. Also the punishments were much harsher. You could get imprisonment and hard labour for stealing one egg.

“The number of offences wasn’t that many but then again you wouldn’t commit a crime if you thought you were going to get caught.”

Mr Haynes explained that in Oxfordshire in the late 1920s and 1930s police officers always lived outside the villages and towns which they policed.

He said: “The chief constable believed the policemen shouldn’t be in the villages.

“That way they would remain aloof and have more respect. Nowadays it seems it’s the other way round.

“ The police need to be aloof to be respected.”

But Mr Haynes, of Moor Avenue, Witney, pointed to the different challenges today, including dealing with the influence of violent films and video games.

He said: “Years ago, if two men had a fight and someone punched them on the nose, they would walk away.

“Now they kick his ribs, stamp on his face and all his mates join in.

“People were also much more co-operative than they are nowadays. Witnesses don’t want to come forward and get involved.”

No-one from Thames Valley Police was available to comment.