It has long been know that the fear of crime is probably the greatest issue affecting the quality of life of thousands of people up and down the land.

In some cases the actual level of crime does not justify that perceived fear. This week a stage-managed initiative - billed as the county's biggest ever crackdown and mass arrest campaign - was launched by police. Keighley was one of the areas which came under the spotlight.

The idea of the campaign is to send out a clear message to criminals, with such high-profile police action giving communities confidence the police are taking more positive action.

Police admit the fear of crime has overtaken the level of crime itself, and this fear will also be tackled via high visibility patrols and community projects. At the same time as the raids were being carried out, police confirmed that they are putting more officers on the streets in the new Keighley division thanks to savings on bureaucracy. Shift patterns have been reorganised so that more officers are available when needed; new target levels have been fixed for arrests; the successful crime analysis unit is being enlarged, and so on.

Assistant Chief Constable Greg Wilkinson says police are achieving a sustained reduction in crime. He pledges officers will not be complacent and target levels will be maintained. We'll take that on trust.

What we now need to see is support for this action from others. The courts must send out equally strong messages, for instance. The greatest contribution, however, should come from the public. By working with the police the fear of crime will be reduced in line with the actual reductions in crime.