After the disappointing revelation, exclusively revealed on our front page last week, that just 32 people had been convicted following 684 burglaries in Bradford city centre last year, we are especially pleased today to be able to report a very different picture regarding house break-ins.

Figures released under a Freedom of Information request show that, overall, the number of burglaries at dwellings across the Bradford district fell by 30 per cent in the last year, with some areas seeing improvements of up to 50 per cent.

Police are putting much of this down to what they call “proactive and preventative” initiatives.

There are bound to be some who say “well, they would, wouldn’t they...” but there can be no doubt – as evidenced by councillors in the three areas with the greatest falls – that house burglary has been made a deliberate priority, with initiatives such as anti-burglary campaigns, working with repeat offenders and targeted patrols.

The fact there have been so many falls in so many areas can’t be down to luck, so credit where credit is due and well done to the police for their efforts. Some are keen to point out that there is no room for complacency and there is still a way to go before we can all feel entirely safe in our homes.

But what a great advert this is for the benefits of getting more police out on the street. And who wouldn’t be willing to pay a little more on their Council Tax precept if funding for more officers could produce even more of this sort of result?