I received a tip yesterday via a DigitalPoint Forums thread that Google was showing a lot of malware for certain keywords, including a search for [racketeering]. When you searched for these results, Google was showing search results that contained spyware and malware.
This was posted at DigitalPoint Forums at about 3pm yesterday. I confirmed seeing the spyware/malware results in Google around 4pm yesterday. I knew Google was quick at malware detection and removal, so I thought it would be a good test to see how long it will last. I did not notify Google, I did not flag the thread - all I did was wait. Now, this morning, less than 24 hours since the results were first spotting in Google, they are now gone.
So yes, Google malware detection is faster and better. Although the report offensive images is not something that Google has somewhat automated yet.
Forum discussion at DigitalPoint Forums.