Thames Valley Police has improved since its last inspection, according to a new report from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS). The PEEL assessment, published on 8 July 2026, awarded the force an outstanding grade for attracting and retaining a diverse workforce, while praising its neighbourhood policing and work on violence against women and girls.
Inspector Roy Wilsher highlighted particular successes in preventing rural crime, where a dedicated 25-officer taskforce has recovered more than £8 million of stolen property since March 2022 and cut rural crime by around 50 percent. The force also earned good grades for deterring crime and antisocial behaviour. However, the report rated crime investigation and the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults as requiring improvement.
Leadership, public response, and the fair use of police powers were all judged adequate, alongside fraud management. The inspection, carried out during autumn and winter 2025, followed a restructuring that saw five local command units supported by central teams. In the year to March 2025, total force funding reached £825 million, equivalent to £312,536 per 1,000 residents across the 2.64-million population served.
Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber welcomed the progress but stressed that work must continue. “I will review the findings of His Majesty’s Inspectorate with the Chief Constable and closely monitor the force’s response to the report through my ongoing scrutiny and oversight, ensuring that the necessary improvements continue to be delivered for the communities of Thames Valley,” he said via the commissioner’s office.
The PEEL programme now takes a more continual, intelligence-led approach across all 43 forces in England and Wales, replacing the previous cycle of annual inspections. Thames Valley Police has already improved control room operations and 999 call answering times since its last assessment, and the rural taskforce remains active under an inspector’s command.
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