CROOKS are having a lean time in Blackburn town centre in the Christmas rush.

An intensive police swoop, Operation Mistletoe, has been hailed a success after just one week.

Since it began on December 1, officers have arrested 32 people and recovered property worth £4,000.

Crime prevention officer Sergeant Alan Holt said its success was largely down to the use of closed circuit television and the radio link between stores, both of which were installed during 1996.

He said: "Thieves can be sure that they are not safe in Blackburn town centre.

"Not only has our policing been effective, stores have also seized the opportunity to help themselves by communicating through the radio link."

Operation Mistletoe, the biggest ever pre-Christmas crime clamp-down in Blackburn town centre, includes:

Ten uniformed officers patrolling the shopping precinct and nearby shops.

Police motorcyclists monitoring car parks and the edges of the town centre looking for car crooks.

Officers and horses from the force's mounted branch along with members of the Special Constabulary carrying out high-visibility policing.

Plain-clothed officers from Lancashire police's operational support unit moving into town to try to catch thieves in the act.

Use of the town's closed circuit television cameras and the radio link scheme to track suspected crooks and monitor stores.

Police are applying to the courts for people arrested in the town centre to be barred from returning until their cases have been heard.

So far, nine people have been bailed for theft-related offences with conditions that they do not enter the town centre.

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