POLICE in East Lancashire are winning the fight against crime but could do better, according to official statistics.

They have failed to match tough targets set by the police authority and Chief Constable Pauline Clare at the start of the year.

And even tougher targets are being set for the coming year.

Figures for the division covering Blackburn, Darwen, Hyndburn and the Ribble Valley show a fall in crime of just 0.2 per cent over the last 12 months, compared with the target of a five per cent cut.

In the whole of Lancashire last year, 47,025 people were arrested for criminal offences. There were 12,189 violent crimes committed, 12,189 people had their homes burgled and 5,982 were injured in traffic accidents.

Lancashire police authority chairman Dr Ruth Henig said: "Significant improvement has been made in many areas and this will provide the basis for further improvement in future years."

Police in East Lancashire beat their target for detecting violent crimes - more than 80 per cent were detected in Blackburn and the surrounding towns.

Police have also been successfully targeting drug dealers.

There were also successes in cutting the number of public nuisance incidents but the police failed to hit targets for solving burglaries and reducing road casualties.

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