A PRE-CHRISTMAS crackdown by police on the activities of known offenders is being hailed a success.

The three-week operation, code-named Bullseye, was launched by Durham Police on December 10 to stifle the activities of regular offenders in the force area.

Modelled on similar successful operations, it was reinforced by a revolutionary intelligence gathering system and involved hundreds of front-line officers, including uniformed constables, CID specialists and traffic police.

It resulted in 119 arrests, 62 of which were on suspicion of involvement in burglaries, theft and vehicle crime. Others arrested were questioned about a range of drug offences.

Police revealed yesterday that 65 have so far been charged or cautioned after admitting offences, while many others have been granted police bail pending further inquiries, including the outcome of forensic tests.

Stolen property valued at £154,000, and a range of drugs, including cocaine, heroin, Ecstasy, amphetamine and cannabis, with a street value of about £135,000, were recovered.

Three firearms - two rifles and a handgun - were also seized by police, who planned the three-week blitz using a ground-breaking information gathering framework known as the National Intelligence Model.

Hailing the success of Bullseye, Durham's head of CID, Detective Chief Superintendent Ian Scott, said: "The system cost nearly £500,000 and has introduced a common language and greater understanding to the high-speed process of gathering and disseminating large amounts of data.

"It was rolled out across our force area during last summer and, in the very near future, will allow the Northumbria, Durham and Cleveland forces to share cross-border intelligence in a way that has not been possible in the past."

Det Chief Supt Scott said the model was used to identify crime hot-spots, examine linked offending, refine crime-fighting tactics and target active offenders.

He said Bullseye also relied on high profile policing in many of the worst crime-hit areas.

It led to a dramatic reduction in offending in some areas with a fall in reported house burglaries.

One operation, mounted specifically to curb illegal sales of alcohol, is still yielding useful information, police said.