West Yorkshire Police are "good at reducing crime and keeping people safe" but the quality of their investigations needs to improve.
That's the message Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), which has praised the force for effectively tackling crime, making efficient use of public money, protecting vulnerable people and providing victims with a "good service".
The independent inspector gave the force an overall rating of good, but have stated the "investigation quality requires improvement" and identified a "shortfall in detective capacity and capability".
HMICFRS has also said the force "needs to invest more in counter-corruption activity" as the understaffed counter-corruption unit "does not have the capacity or capability" to effectively investigate potential corruption.
The force have lost 10 per cent of their staff since 2010 and have been forced to make budget cuts, due to reductions in government funding.
The government has announced the force will receive an extra £36.7 million of funding this year, as part of "the biggest increase in funding for the police system in a decade", but chief constable John Robins says they still
Despite the financial constraints, in the eight months up to December 2019 the force saw reductions in knife crime, robberies, serious violence and violent firearms offences.
Chief constable Robins said: “This positive report is a testament to the hard work of police officers, staff and volunteers across West Yorkshire Police.
"They have done all they can to tackle crime in recent years, whilst the demand upon them has increased in both volume and complexity.
"I would also like to acknowledge and thank our partners and the public for their joint support to tackle criminality."
He added: “Overall, this is a very encouraging assessment.
"Whilst we acknowledge and agree with the small number of areas requiring improvement, I would like to reassure the public that we have already taken robust steps to address them.
"I have been reassured that we have one of the fewest number of recommendations for improvement of any police force in the country.
"I am committed to continuous improvement and while I am very pleased with today’s grading, my ambition is to improve our performance still further."
