Sussex Police's web site is one of the least arresting in the country, according to a survey.
It has gaps in important content, inadequate information in some other areas and poor accessibility for disabled users.
The Society of Information Technology Management surveyed 59 police web sites.
Researchers used a questionnaire to assess each site's ability to respond to the needs of a range of potential users, including an 11-year-old boy suffering from bullying at school, a black student thinking about joining the police service, a victim of mugging dissatisfied at her treatment and a newly-retired person interested in setting up a neighbourhood watch scheme.
For each user, a set of questions was devised to test the site's performance in the areas of content, joined-up government, interactive applications, community leadership, usability and responsiveness to email.
Accessibility for those with disabilities was tested in a separate exercise by the Royal National Institute of the Blind.
The sites were classified as "promotional" (the least developed), "content", "content plus" or "transactional" (most developed).
No police web sites attained top status and only seven per cent of sites met the content plus criteria.
Sussex Police was among the 44 per cent majority of sites to achieve a content rating but it performed badly in several areas.
The site was rated as inadequate for joined-up government, interactive applications, community leadership, usability and accessibility and there was no information for three of the four scenarios.
Mike Alderson, head of marketing for Sussex Police, was keen to emphasise the web site was an ongoing project.
He said: "We are always working to deliver the best service to the people of Sussex and we actively welcome all views and opportunities to review and improve our service.
"The web is an exciting and evolving means of communication and we're happy to learn lessons and keep improving.
"This survey indicates the state of development of the site, not the quality of what is being delivered."
Mr Alderson said many of the things highlighted as good practice in the report were already being done on the site.
"We want our site to meet the needs of all the people in Sussex.
"To that end, we are working hard at the moment to make our site accessible for anyone with visual impairment.
"This work should be complete by September."
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