POLICE have revealed they are stepping up their efforts to target hardened criminals in Lancashire.

As part of massive changes in the way the county's constabulary is organised greater emphasis has been placed on catching habitual offenders.

Professional criminals, drug dealers, paedophiles and organised rings of shoplifters are just some of the groups who have been put under the spotlight. The aim is to cut crime rates by targeting the people responsible for the majority of offences in Lancashire.

The switch to Problem Orientated Policing or POPS means that the force is aiming to be more pro-active and intelligence led.

As part of the recent policy changes 21 specialists whose job includes intelligence gathering and research have been appointed. The experts have been providing the force with information on known and active criminals.

Detailed files are being gathered on known criminals and teams of officers are using surveillance and disruption techniques to make it difficult for them to operate normally.

Chiefs at Hutton headquarters have hailed the new approach as a huge success. According to figures which will be discussed at the police authority's policing committee the new measures are already working.

In the last year 24 complex and high level cases were investigated by the force's Major Crime Unit.

A county wide operation was also carried out last autumn which proved a massive success.

The operation netted £18,000 worth of stolen property, drugs worth £23,000 and ended in 433 arrests.

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