Watchdog says Cleveland Police need more investigators to tackle serious and organised crime
A government watchdog has said Cleveland Police needs more financial investigators to help seize criminals' assets.
Inspectors rated the force "adequate" at tackling serious and organised crime and found it had improved how it protects victims.
The report also found the force had improved how it acted to prevent people being drawn into organised crime.
Two areas where there could be improvements were highlighted. These concerned offenders' illegal gains and busting crime gangs in neighbourhoods.
The report from His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services said: "The force doesn't have enough financial investigation capacity to meet demand."
It continued to explain how officers do not have enough time to wade through more than 20,000 reports which have stacked up over the years.
The police efficiency, effectiveness and legitimacy report also said police do not have enough time to "proactively investigate money laundering".
The report stated: "Tackling organised crime should fundamentally involve the identification and confiscation of criminal assets.
"Doing this effectively requires specially trained financial investigators and analysts.
"Cleveland Police doesn't have enough skilled personnel to meet all of the demand in this area.
"Financial investigators are dealing with large caseloads. They have little time to review suspicious activity reports (SARs), develop financial intelligence or proactively investigate money laundering."
The report says there should be more neighbourhood activity to tackle organised crime threats, but it accepts some neighbourhood police do not have the manpower or expertise to bring down crime gangs.
It goes on to say the force should also be "more robust in holding lead responsible officers to account". There should be more scrutiny from chief officers monitoring operations.
It added that specialists can improve how the force disrupts organised criminals.
Officers should work more closely with specialist teams "to be more effective at reducing the threat" in some investigations.
The report continued: "The force has improved how it identifies and protects victims of serious and organised crime, but the approach needs to be more consistent throughout the force."
Inspectors found officers were "focused on identifying the children of organised criminals, to respond to any welfare concerns and to safeguard them.
"We were also pleased to find that officers dedicated to identifying vulnerable people were assigned to all SOC investigations."
Durham Police was rated outstanding at dealing with SOC and Northumbria Police was rated good.
The North-east Regional Specialist Operations Unit (NERSOU) - now renamed North-east Regional Organised Crime Unit (NEROCU) - was rated adequate.