Thames Valley Police has been told it must do more to properly investigate crime and protect vulnerable victims after inspectors found officers were often handed cases too complex for their training and experience.

A new report from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) said the force ‘requires improvement’ in three of eight core areas: leadership and force management, investigating crime, and safeguarding children and adults at risk of harm.

HM Inspector Roy Wilsher said that while he was satisfied with some aspects of the force’s performance, he had ‘concerns about how it is investigating crime and supporting vulnerable people.’

He also raised the alarm over the force’s response to high-risk domestic abuse cases, finding it has been under-assessing risk levels – which can lead to victims being denied access to safeguarding support they should have received.

Inspectors also found the force has no dedicated rape investigation unit, often resulting in unqualified and inexperienced staff handling complex rape and sexual offence cases.

This concern was verified by a workforce survey which found almost a third of officers said they were regularly allocated investigations beyond their level of training.

On the use of force, inspectors estimated Thames Valley Police had likely under-recorded incidents of handcuffing or Taser use by more than 23,000 occurrences over the year.

They noted a lack of internal scrutiny to make sure force was being used proportionately and lawfully, which would help aid transparency and accountability to the public.

Despite a four per cent rise in 999 calls, the force’s response to emergency calls was found to be quicker than the national average, although its response to non-emergency calls came under fire. especially those relating to domestic abuse.

Inspectors found only 36 per cent of domestic abuse incidents were attended within the target time, nearly 20 percentage points lower than the force’s overall non-emergency response rate.

However, neighbourhood policing was highlighted as a success, with inspectors finding that digital technology and officers on the streets had helped the force tackle antisocial behaviour and deal with local problems before they escalated.

The report praised an app that lets neighbourhood officers log engagement and patrol activity on their mobile devices rather than filing paperwork back at the station, freeing up time and helping officers maintain a visible presence in communities.

Since launching in March 2024, the app has recorded more than 115,000 patrol activities and 82,000 engagements, and is now being explored for wider national rollout by the Home Office.

The force’s use of artificial intelligence also drew praise from inspectors, who found it had helped reduce time spent on routine tasks and allowed call handlers to focus on high-priority work.

Thames Valley Police has been piloting ‘Bobbi’, an AI-powered virtual assistant which answers routine non-emergency queries, on its website.

In one week alone, Bobbi resolved 266 contact enquiries without needing a human call handler.

This helped the free up call handlers to deal with more complex calls.

Deputy Chief Constable Ben Snuggs acknowledged the shortcomings of the report and said the force welcomed the scrutiny.

“We are clear that there is more to do,” he said.

“We are focused on strengthening the quality and consistency of our investigations, enhancing how we identify and safeguard vulnerable people and building on the progress we have already made in our service delivery.”