A PARTNERSHIP between police and local authorities is making north-west Durham one of the most crime-free areas in the UK.

Chief Inspector Dave Hogg, head of the Derwentside division of Durham Police, told a meeting of Derwentside Community Safety Forum that the force had enjoyed several successes in the past year - but admitted there were areas where his officers' performance was "unacceptable".

"I believe there have been some good achievements in Derwentside that we should be very proud of," he said.

The division has boosted its number of informants from one last year, to 17. When this resulted in more reports of crime than the uniformed officers could handle, chiefs set up the Divisional Response Unit (DRU).

In the three months since it started, the DRU has carried out 60 operations, recovering drugs with a street value of £124,000 and stolen goods worth around £40,000.

Ch Insp Hogg said thefts from vehicles had fallen by half since last year, but said the detection rate for the crime was just one per cent.

"The detection rate is quite frankly pathetic," he said. "This is an area that we are trying to improve."

Future police efforts will be boosted by two mobile security camera vans to combat youth nuisance and a passive drug sniffer dog to use in town centres.

Forum chairman, Councillor Alex Watson, said the measures had helped keep the crime rate in Derwentside at one of the lowest in the UK. Derwentside District Council has been running several schemes to help combat crime.

The Target Hardening scheme saw the district council spend £60,000 on improving security in 320 properties in known burglary hotspots, leading to a fall of 36 per cent in house burglaries.

Grants of £150,000 have been given out through the Safer Homes project, to 109 elderly and vulnerable residents in private sector housing. The scheme will be rolled out to a further 400 properties next year.

The authority has also secured six Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) and evicted 27 anti-social council tenants, resulting in a reduction in complaints by other tenants of around 40 per cent.

Government figures show that Derwentside out-performed all the other councils in County Durham in its pursuit of benefit fraudsters.

Coun Watson promised a further 21 security cameras across the district in the coming 12 months