THE region's police chief has praised the force's performance in cutting crime despite reductions in funding.

Thames Valley Police Chief Constable Sara Thornton has hailed the latest figures showing overall level of crime in the area has fallen by more than 13 per cent.

Chiltern is among the districts highlighted by police bosses as a success with a fall of 18.3 per cent.

The statistics come shortly after police bosses in Wycombe announced crime was slashed in ten months last year, with a sharp reduction in burglary, robbery, sexual and violent offences.

It made Wycombe the best performing LPA in Bucks.

Between April 2011 and the end of March this year there were 22,566 fewer crimes compared with the same period in 2010/11, according to the figures.

Officials highlighted death by driving offences dropping by more than 62 per cent, and violent offences which fell by 23.9 per cent overall.

Chief Constable Thornton said: “Cutting crime is Thames Valley Police’s most important responsibility and I am really pleased that we have cut crime by 13 per cent over the last year.

“We have done this despite reductions in our budget which makes it more impressive.

"Most important of all, this means that there were over 20,000 fewer victims in Thames Valley last year.”

Thames Valley Police Authority chairman, Khan Juna, thanked officers for their hard work.