POLICE chief Sir Charles Pollard hit out at criticism that the police are using speed cameras as a means of bringing cash into the force.

Sir Charles said Thames Valley Police is "simply trying to reduce casualties" as he launched his Annual Report last Wednesday.

He said: "Some people complain about speed cameras but in Thames Valley they are focused purely on reducing casualties and are an effective law enforcement tool. If casualties increase it is the community which pays in terms of personal tragedy, hospital treatment, insurance and delay."

The comments come after the Midweek's sister paper, the Free Press, highlighted criticism that the police were introducing more speed cameras to make money through fines.

The Annual Report also highlighted the reduction in road casualties over the last ten years, through measures such as their safer roads campaign.

It claims around 700 lives have been saved, 20,000 serious injuries prevented and that £3 billion has been saved in terms of the financial cost to the community, such as hospital treatment.

Sir Charles also referred to recruitment problems saying that the force is stretching the thin blue line to fight crime. But he said that despite constant resource problems and even though Thames Valley is among the lowest funded forces in the country, it is among the top forces nationwide for reductions in burglary and car crime last year.

The Chief Constable's Annual Report details that in the last year recorded crime across Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, and Oxfordshire has been reduced.

This includes the top force priority areas of house burglary, reduced by 14.7 per cent, and car crime, reduced by 15.1 per cent force wide.

Sir Charles said: "There have been big achievements in the last year against all the odds. We know our communities are concerned about burglary and car crime because they tell us, we listen and act." He also pointed out that they are trying to attract more officers into the force with incentives such as a £2,000 living allowance for officers, but admitted they were still "working flat out to maintain current staffing levels."