The Metropolitan Police Service has made a substantial improvement in investigating crime, citizen focus, local policing and tackling fear of crime according to the findings of a national performance assessment.

In six of the seven categories in the annual Police Performance Assessment Framework, the MPS was judged to have improved by the Home Office and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary.

The assessment, which rates police forces across England and Wales according to their performance in meeting local needs and improving community confidence, marks a significant turn round from last year's results.

The MPS moved up two categories, from poor to good, in the Investigating Crime category. Local Policing was judged to be excellent, up from a good rating last year and Citizen Focus, which covers satisfaction with police actions moved from poor to fair. A similar assessment was made of Promoting Safety, which also moved to fair.

Two categories kept their previous year's grade, Reducing Crime which stayed at fair and Resource Use remained at good.

Commander Simon Foy, Head of Performance, said:

"These results, together with our recent crime figures and findings from independent public attitudes surveys, show we are moving in the right direction. Ultimately what this means is a better service for Londoners."

Part of the Police Performance Assessment Framework is a value judgement provided by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary. The MPS fared well on this measure scoring three excellent, twelve good and eight fair ratings, with improvements in reducing volume crime, forensic management, training and development and reducing anti-social behaviour.