POLICE chiefs say they are winning the long running battle against house burglars across East Lancashire.

Officers in charge of leading the fight against crime in Blackburn, Darwen, Hyndburn and the Ribble Valley have revealed break-ins dropped dramatically last year.

The burglary rates for private properties in the area fell by 11 per cent in the last 12 months following a series of high profile operations by the police.

One crime crackdown in Darwen's troubled St James's had dramatic effects after the police pinpointed the area as a trouble spot.

The latest decrease means burglaries have been almost halved over the last four years. Police see tackling burglaries as their main priority and are pleased with the statistics.

Detective Chief Inspector Mike Turner is the man in charge of crime reduction policies in Eastern Division, the force which covers the area.

He said: "We are delighted to report continuing success in the fight against the burglar not only because we have continued to reduce crime but we have also one of the highest detection rates in Lancashire. "This sends out a clear message that we are determined to focus our efforts on crimes which harm the public."

Even though there have been impressive results in some areas, the overall crime rate for Blackburn and surrounding towns dropped by just 0.2 per cent in the last 12 months.

Police have yet to release a breakdown of all crime figures for the area but have revealed that theft from vehicles fell by six per cent and theft of vehicles fell by 14 per cent.

Mr Turner added: "Even though car crime has continued to fall we are planning a major initiative over the next 12 months to reduce it even further.

"With regard to violent crime, the public can be reassured that again our detection rate of 82 per cent is one of the highest in the county.

"It is also great to be able to report a decrease of nearly seven per cent in incidents of disorder and anti-social behaviour which has been achieved by targeting hotspots and solving problems which concern our community."

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