HM Inspectorate of Constabulary reviews Cleveland, Durham and Northumbria forces

The report identified a need for "sufficient resources" to tackle organised crime

A review of how some police forces tackle organised crime found one has a backlog of 20,000 reports and another's paedophile team "wasn't able to cope".

The inquiry by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary into three north-east England forces said some investigation teams were struggling to meet demand.

Cleveland and Northumbria were both told improvements were needed in some areas.

But Durham was rated "outstanding" for having the right systems and people.

Overall the report rated the North East Regional Specialist Operations Unit (NERSOU) as "adequate".

The unit sees officers from the three forces working together to tackle crimes such as drug trafficking, money laundering, child sexual exploitation and cybercrime.

The paedophile online investigation team "wasn't able to cope"

Although the review found evidence of "good relationships", it also called for "more consistent support" and better "regional collaboration" to protect the public.

With many investigations needing undercover officers, inspectors were concerned there could be "an unacceptable risk" of "overexposure" by using the same people drawn from the three forces, meaning they could be easily recognised as police.

It again recommended the appointment of a "single chief officer" to lead the unit. It had previously been suggested but had not been adopted.

The inspectorate found some teams did not have enough staff to support investigations.

'Terrorist financing'

Cleveland Police was rated adequate. Inspectors found it did not have enough "financial investigation capacity to meet demand", with investigators working on large caseloads.

A backlog of more than 20,000 suspicious activity reports (SARS), which "alert law enforcement to potential instances of money laundering or terrorist financing" meant officers had "little time" to review them or "proactively investigate" financial crimes.

It was also told there was a need to improve how it tackled criminals at a neighbourhood level of policing.

Cleveland Police did not have enough "financial investigation capacity to meet demand"

Northumbria Police was rated good at tackling serious crime, and although it had good leadership it needed to improve workloads.

One area for concern was the paedophile online investigation team, which "wasn't able to cope" with the volume of inquiries referred to it.

Durham Constabulary was rated outstanding and has been recognised nationally for the way it investigates illegal transactions.

The report said it used "many specialist skills" and had invested in "digital intelligence and forensics" to tackle serious crime. It was the only one of the three forces highlighted for "proactively" pursuing financial crime.