Police in Suffolk say crime recording methods have improved, despite new figures showing one in ten offences are still not logged correctly in official statistics.

The force was criticised by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) last summer after it admitted crime had been under-recorded.

Today, Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioner Tim Passmore will be told significant progress has been made on the issue – but more still needs to be done.

An internal audit of December’s crime figures show 89% of offences were correctly recorded. In September, the figure was 73%.

Mr Passmore said “nothing else is acceptable” other than all crimes being properly registered. He spoke ahead of today’s meeting of the force’s accountability and performance panel, which will discuss the matter.

“Public trust and confidence in Suffolk police is very high and we must all work extremely hard to make sure this continues.

“I am 100% committed to ensuring that all data is recorded properly and in a timely fashion – nothing else is acceptable which is why our accountability and performance panel meetings are held six times each year and in public.

“I need to be confident that the HMIC recommendations have been properly embedded in the Constabulary’s work routines and has become a normal part of their daily work.”

Last summer, the HMIC discovered almost 15% of burglaries, criminal damage, robberies, sex offences and violent offences in a small sample monitored were not logged as crimes in Suffolk. While acknowledging Suffolk’s chief officers actively promote the importance of accurate crime data to staff and emphasise the victims’ needs are paramount, the inspectors found not all offences were being recorded correctly.

This was due to a lack of understanding among officers and staff, with training now deemed an essential tool for improvement.

Last night David Skevington, assistant chief constable, said: “We are determined to ensure that we improve in this important area. As a service, both locally and nationally, we recognise that there is more we need to do to ensure that we raise standards and achieve consistency in crime recording and Suffolk’s Crime Data Integrity Group has been set up to oversee improvements.

“The report, published last year, recognised that we have a victim-focussed culture right across our organisation, which places the needs of those who have suffered crime at the heart of our response.

“Since the report was published we have been implementing an action plan, with latest figures showing an improvement in this area, and we will continue to further explore how we can improve our performance.”