A CRITICAL report has revealed that Thames Valley Police does not record one fifth of the crimes reported to it.

More than 35,000 crimes reported to the force a year - including assaults and rapes - are not being properly recorded.

The damning report, published by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary today, brands the force 'inadequate' in terms of its accuracy when recording crimes and says many victims are being let down.

Deputy chief constable John Campbell said the report makes for 'unwelcome reading' and said a number of steps would be taken to address the concerns.

Inspector Zoë Billingham said: “I am disappointed with the quality of crime recording in Thames Valley.

"Although the force has implemented the recommendations from our previous crime recording inspection in 2014, we found that almost one in five crimes in Thames Valley are not being recorded properly – that equates to approximately 35,200 crimes a year.

“I am satisfied that the force works very hard to ensure that victims of crime, especially vulnerable victims, are safeguarded. It now needs to ensure that it records crimes at the earliest opportunity, and that there is proper supervision of crime recording decisions."

The force records around 80 per cent of crimes reported to it - but thousands of crimes each year go unrecorded.

Inspectors found that 13,900 (30.8 per cent) reports of violent crime and 490 (9.8 per cent) reports of sex offences go unrecorded each year.

They also examined 53 vulnerable victim records. Of those they found that 20 should have been recorded and only nine had been. The missing eleven crimes included offences against children as well as adults.

Commenting on the report an NSPCC spokesman said: "It is very concerning that some child sex offences are going unrecorded by Thames Valley Police, which could mean vulnerable young victims are being denied the vital support they are entitled to.

“However, safeguarding procedures are being implemented and overall improvement in recording crimes is a positive step that should be built upon.

“Thames Valley Police must now act to carry out all the of the HMIC’s important recommendations without delay and ensure victims are at the heart of their determined work to keep us safe.”

The report also notes that officers and staff do not always believe victims who they perceive to be suffering from mental health issues.

Frontline officers and supervisors have a poor level of understanding of how the crime-recording system they rely on works.

The report says the force must promptly improve upon its accuracy when recording and provide victims with the 'service they deserve'.

Commenting on the report Mr Campbell, the force's deputy chief constable, said: “This report makes for unwelcome reading, especially for a force that performs so well when measured in terms of our effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy.

"We accept the findings of HMICFRS and will be working hard over the coming months to ensure that we address their concerns. The matters subject to review were recorded as 'incidents' rather than crimes, but there is no suggestion that we failed to respond appropriately to the calls or to deal with the matters in hand.

"I am pleased that HMICFRS confirmed that they found no issues of unethical behaviour and I can assure the communities of Thames Valley that every day, every officer is working hard to keep you safe from harm and to protect victims of crime."

Police and crime commissioner for Thames Valley Anthony Stansfeld is currently on leave.

His deputy Matthew Barber said: “I am disappointed with the findings of the data integrity report.

"Clearly, there is work that needs to be done by Thames Valley Police to improve the level and accuracy of crime recording."