So what we have suspected of our police for some time has finally been confirmed.

They are neglecting to tackle serious and violent crime and focusing on more minor offences to meet Government targets.

The admission has come from a man who should know - Peter Neyroud, former Thames Valley Chief Constable and now chief executive of the National Policing Improvement Agency, whose job is to shape the future of policing in England and Wales.

He points out that under the present system, police get as many points for catching a petty crook as a murderer.

It is little surprise that many forces go for the easy option - to catch as many minor offenders as possible to hit their targets.

The latest statistics appear to bear this out. The Government set a target of solving 1.25m crimes by the end of 2007-8, a figure that has already been exceeded.

In the 12 months to June this year, 1.4m offences were cleared up.

If the Thames Valley force slavishly followed Government targets during Mr Neyroud's reign, it is apparently no longer the case.

His successor, Sara Thornton, insists her force now concentrates on four main areas of crime - burglary, robbery, vehicle crime and violence - and the aim is quality, not quantity.

While that is a laudable change of policy, we hesitate to heap too much praise on our police.

The force still has many shortcomings - one of which is the woefully low detection rate of 24.5 per cent.

The fact that three-quarters of crime goes undetected is hardly a cause for celebration.