Crime initiatives do work. It has been proved in recent years that if the police focus resources on certain areas which are notorious for high levels of criminal activity a big dint can be made in the number of offences committed.

There are no surprises in that, of course. It has been obvious for long enough to the public that if the police take the battle to the criminals the latter will be forced to curb their activities. That is why there is such constant pressure for high-profile policing, with demands for more officers on the beat.

Given the money and manpower restrictions under which they operate, the police are unfortunately unable to provide the overall levels of cover that the public, and no doubt they themselves, would prefer. So they have to rely on blitzing crime hotspots.

The people who live in the Nab Wood area of Shipley, the Frizinghall streets around Shipley Fields Road and the Knowles Park district of Keighley will no doubt be relieved that the places where they live have been chosen for the latest purge by Keighley division.

The aim is to target offenders, identifying them, disrupting their activities and making arrests in districts where there have been a higher-than-average number of robberies and thefts.

No doubt when the exercise comes to an end the level of crime will have been substantially reduced. Hopefully the crime-prevention campaign run in conjunction with the blitz, advising people how to avoid being a victim, will help to keep it that way when the police have transferred their focus to other areas.