A crime-cutting initiative aimed at beating burglars in two areas of Bradford has won cash backing from the Home Office, it was announced today.

The Great Horton and Scholemoor strategic development project is one of 30 pilot schemes selected to receive Government backing.

The £60,000 grant will fund a partnership approach to preventing burglaries, building up profiles of offenders and targeting homes which have already been broken into. The scheme, part of the district's Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership, has set itself the target of slashing the number of reported burglaries in the two areas by 25 per cent.

In the last year there were 339 burglaries among the 2981 households in the Great Horton/Scholemoor areas.

Chief Inspector Des Broster, of Toller Lane Police, said: "The Home Office review team was very impressed by our commitment and targeted policing style. There was a lot of competition for this funding, so we are delighted to have been chosen."

Announcing the grants today Home Secretary Jack Straw, pictured, said: "Many readers of the Telegraph & Argus will recall that sickening feeling of returning home to find their video or television gone, their belongings tampered with and items of sentimental value either damaged or stolen.

"For many, the feeling of violation will never leave them. That's why burglary is such a nasty crime.

"I am delighted the Great Horton and Scholemoor areas of Bradford are among the first 30 areas chosen to receive our support. We have to do more to help restore those communities which have been hardest hit and reduce the fear of crime.

"Despite welcome improvements, burglary rates in England and Wales are still among the highest in the industrialised world.

"Yet we know that where there is a concerted effort by the police and councils, in partnership with local councils, we can make a difference."

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