Police work suffering over targets

In one case, the federation said, an officer was pulled off the investigation of a paedophile ring to concentrate on reducing burglary rates.

The six-month review of CID units across England and Wales also revealed a chronic shortage of detectives, with inexperienced officers called on to lead inquiries into serious crimes.

Alan Gordon, the vice-chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, told Tonight with Trevor MacDonald that pressure to hit government targets was skewing the way crime was recorded.

"Officers are being very innovative in the way that offences are recorded because so much pressure is being placed upon them by senior management who are having pressure placed upon them by the Home Office in order to make it appear to the public that crime is in fact reducing," he said.

In some parts of the country, Mr Gordon said, police were keeping crime figures low by encouraging people who had had their mobile phones stolen to report them as lost.

"One officer told us that he was actually investigating a paedophile ring which he considered to be still active, but at that time the force were under considerable pressure to reduce crime in a particular area such as burglary," he said. "If he'd arrested the paedophiles it would still have only been one tick in the box, and therefore no more importance was attached to that than actually investigating burglaries.

But police minister Tony McNulty hit out at the Police Federation, accusing them of exaggerating the situation.

"When they talk constantly about neighbourhood policing and the failures of PCSOs, that's not what I get out on the streets all the time," he told the programme. "I respect their views I just think they over-egg and exaggerate to make a point, sometimes to the detriment of the members and that's not in their own interests."

Thin Blue Line: Tonight will be broadcast on ITV1 at 8 o'clock.