POLICE in Lancashire have pledged to cut car crime and domestic burglary levels in the county by around a third over the next five years.

The force has set itself a target of reducing theft of and from vehicles by 30 per cent and house burglary by 34 per cent.

The move comes after the latest Home Office crime figures revealed that Lancashire was one of the few forces in the country to see a reduction in crime. The overall targets for England and Wales are a 30 per cent cut for car crime and a 26 per cent cut in burglaries.

Home Secretary and Blackburn MP Jack Straw said: "Since 1997, overall recorded crime has fallen by seven per cent - with domestic burglary falling by 20 per cent - while the number of criminals successfully convicted has increased .

"Yet England and Wales remains one of the most crime-prone jurisdictions in Western Europe across a wide range of offences. We must - and we can - do better.

"For the first time, there will be a meaningful target regime which police forces themselves will own, driving up morale and performance."

Lancashire Police crime reduction co-ordinator Det Chief Supt Adrian McAllister said: "These targets provide the most far-reaching yardstick to date for measuring progress on reducing two of the types of crime which are of major concern to the public.

"So far this year we have reduced house burglaries by more than 14 per cent and car crime by more than 12 per cent on the previous year's figures.

"This is very encouraging, but we are aware of the difficulties of sustaining such results and will be looking to other agencies and organisations to work in partnership with us to ensure continued reductions."

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