CLOSED circuit television cameras are playing a valuable role in helping trap and prosecute offenders in Burnley town centre, the town's Police and Community Forum was told.

David Macro of the Crown Prosecution Service spoke to last night's meeting at Belmont Community Centre on the Brunshaw estate about the work of the Burnley branch.

The branch covers most of East Lancashire including the Blackburn and Hyndburn areas as well as Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale.

It dealt with 16,000 cases last year with 93.14 per cent of cases resulting in conviction.

Closed circuit television had helped in some of those convictions. "Often in court it is one man's word against another's, but people caught on camera cannot argue against the pictures,'' explained Mr Macro. Supt Clive Fothergill reported that in the last three months police in Burnley had recorded 10,899 incidents, slightly lower than in the same period last year and including 937 burglar alarms, 274 injury or damage accidents, 1,278 cases of suspicious activity, 503 scenes of juvenile incidents, 480 cases of damage and 350 domestic disputes.

Total crime figures were also almost the same as in the same period last year at 2,200. There were 460 house burglaries, 113 stealing or taking vehicles without consent, 369 thefts from vehicles and 269 cases of criminal damage.

Supt Fothergill spoke of the targeting of persistent offenders and drug dealers, of partnerships between the police and other agencies and efforts to reduce the number of road traffic accidents.

Local residents also raised concerns about motor cycle scrambling and street parking at the well attended meeting.

Members of the public are asked to suggest future meeting places for the forum. Open to everyone, it meets at various venues in the Burnley and Padiham area.

The next two meetings have already been fixed for Briercliffe and South West Burnley but Coun Marion Smith asked for members of the public to come up with ideas for new meeting places. The Forum secretary can be contacted on 01772-263462.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.