West Yorkshire Police has been praised for significantly improving its performance, which includes huge reductions in robbery, burglary and vehicle crime.

A damning report by Government inspectors 16 months ago warned there was an urgent need for the force to substantially improve and a specialist Home Office hit squad had been sent in to work with police chiefs to tackle problems.

The HM Inspectorate of Constabulary warned that the force, then ranked among the worst five in the country, had a number of challenges to meet for its performance to achieve the standards expected.

But, as reported in later editions of the T&A yesterday, new police performance assessments by HMIC, for the year to April 2005, show West Yorkshire has dramatically turned the corner. It is one of only two forces in the country to have shown an improvement in all seven categories assessed, which include reducing crime and investigating crime.

West Yorkshire was among only four forces to be graded as excellent in investigating crime. It was ranked good in reducing crime, promoting safety, providing assistance and the use of resources. It had one fair grade, for local policing, and was only ranked poor for citizen focus, although the force had shown improvement in that category.

North Yorkshire Police also fared well with an improved performance in six of the seven categories, while investigating crime remained the same.

In its assessment of West Yorkshire, HMIC said: "The force has seen very significant performance gains in 2004-5." But it added: "Improving Citizen Focus performance presents a challenge for the future."

The assessment said the force had undergone significant changes since June 2003. Work was progressing in developing its policing style and philosophy.

Robberies had been reduced by 41 per cent, burglaries were cut by 37 per cent and vehicle crime was down by 31 per cent, meaning there were 30,000 fewer victims. There were also more offenders brought to justice.

West Yorkshire Chief Constable Colin Cramphorn said: "Significant improvements have been made in the last year and that is testament to the hard work of police officers and police staff."

West Yorkshire Police Authority chairman, Councillor Mark Burns-Williamson, said: "The Police Authority has increased the amount of money available to the Chief Constable and this is an excellent return on that investment.''

Tom McGhie, chairman of West Yorkshire Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, said: "A lot of work over a long period of time has gone in to achieve these improvements. The force has not taken the foot off the gas and hopefully we will continue to improve."