A CRACKDOWN targeting Accrington's persistent offenders has been hailed a success by police.

Officers claim burglaries and car crime have been significantly reduced and they are on track to meet tough crime figures set by Lancashire Constabulary for the year ahead.

Support units and dog-handling patrols have been drafted in to aid CID and uniformed officers as part of Operation Effect. The campaign was launched last month to clamp down on individual offenders and Accrington's crime hot spots. Teams visited offenders' homes and there was increased police presence in targeted areas of the town. Sergeant Mark Rothwell, Accrington police operations manager, said: "It appears that throughout the current operation crime in Accrington has been significantly reduced.

"This includes all sorts of offences from burglaries and thefts to car crime.

"The number of calls about juvenile nuisance has also been significantly reduced, which is a great help because they are one of the biggest drains on resources.

"We are now well on target to achieve the six per cent reduction in crime set for the division.

"This is not the end of the campaign and we will continue targeting the hot spots."

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