A TEAM of specially trained police officers is to investigate every house break-in across County Durham and Darlington.

The small team of hand-picked officers has been schooled in forensics, crime scene awareness and crime prevention in an attempt to arrest more thieves and recover more stolen property.

The Durham force has decided to make the scheme permanent with the appointment of four burglary support officers after a year-long pilot scheme proved highly successful.

The officers, two of whom will be based in the north and two in the south of the force areas, will visit up to 600 house burglary scenes every year.

Head of CID, Detective Chief Superintendent Ian Scott said: "By having the right people in the right job and by improving the quality of investigation I also believe more arrests and reductions in offending are possible.

"Burglary support officers are committed well-motivated individuals with an understanding of a particular type of crime.

"Their local knowledge is absolutely crucial and by going to every house burglary scene they have been able to recognise patterns of offending, identify targets and play a key role in the arrest of offenders.''

Earlier this month, annual recorded crime figures confirmed that house burglaries in County Durham and Darlington has hit an all-time low.

Between April last year and the end of March this year, a total of 2,465 house break-ins were reported compared with 2,843 on the previous 12 months - a fall of 13 per cent and the lowest figure since the reorganisation of police boundaries 30 years ago. House burglaries reached a record 7,782 in the mid-1990s.

Det Chief Supt Scott said: "The quality of service we provide to victims remains vitally important and it has been one of the immediate benefits from the experiment of the last year.

Yesterday, The Northern Echo reported how a new burglar-busting police team had been set up in Darlington to crack down on a hardcore of up to 18 well-known thieves in the town.

The team of five officers will be carrying out intelligence-led search warrants and will stop and question people acting suspiciously.