THE latest crime figures show a drop in burglaries in West Craven.

The figures for July show two burglaries this year, compared to four in 2002.

Overall there were 13 more crimes recorded in West Craven this July compared to last year - a 20 per cent rise.

However, Sgt Chris Saville, of Barnoldswick police station, said much of that rise was due to the success of targeted police operations which have put some of the area's most prolific offenders behind bars.

The figures have also been affected by changes in the way that police must record events, requiring more incidents to be logged as crimes.

Despite the rise in all crime, West Craven remains among the best performing areas in Pennine Division, with much less crime than other areas.

The latest figures show the number of burglaries in premises other than dwellings up by two to six, while four drugs offences were detected and dealt with last month.

Incidents of criminal damage fell from 13 last year to nine this year and juvenile nuisance fell by eight per cent from 39 to 36.

The figures show no robberies, no thefts from the person, no common assaults or more serious assaults in July.

o New police patrols clamping down on juvenile nuisance in West Craven are under way.

Several "hot spot" areas have been identified in Barnoldswick, Earby and the surrounding villages and the high visibility mobile patrols will visit them throughout the evenings, when most juvenile nuisance occurs.

Sgt Saville said the small minority of young people who caused damage and harassment would find themselves in the police spotlight.

"This is an ongoing operation, with deployments co-ordinated on a weekly basis depending on where problems are identified," said Sgt Saville. "I would urge members of the public to contact the police without hesitation if they are subject to juvenile nuisance in any form."

o Drink-drivers are being warned to stay sober or stay off the road by the Lancashire Partnership for Road Safety. August is one of the worst months for drink-related crashes and the partnership is warning drink-drivers that not only do they risk losing their licence, but that their actions could cause loss of life.

Chief Inspector Val Prince said: "Drink-driving is an all year round issue. With summer upon us bringing warm sunny days and lighter evenings, people are encouraged to go out and about and socialise, resulting in higher incidents of drink driving.

"Although we have been very successful in reducing the number of drink-driving related collisions, we will be targeting policing efforts to catch offenders."