A CRIME-fighting partnership hopes its new base will help it become a regional and national leader.

Easington MP John Cummings opened the Community Safety Partnership's base, in Lee House, within the Castle Dene shopping centre, in Peterlee, yesterday.

The move brings the agencies involved, including Easington District Council, the youth offending team, Victim Support and the Easington Substance Misuse Initiative, under the same roof for the first time.

Established in 1998 following a Government directive, the partnership is aimed at tackling crime in one of Britain's most deprived areas through joint initiatives.

A recent audit to measure its success showed a 25 per cent drop in overall crime and a 43 per cent reduction in house burglaries during the three years.

Now the partnership is hoping to build on the results by becoming one of the first in the country to establish its own base.

Steve Arkley, the council's head of community safety and acting chairman of the Easington Community Safety Partnership, said: "We are one of the first to do this and we are doing it on a scale that's bigger than anywhere else, with more agencies involved.

"There will be about 60 staff permanently based in the building.

"We are trying to set up a regional centre of excellence for delivering community safety services that is among the best nationally."

In the past, the agencies worked from their individual premises, meeting only occasionally to discuss joint plans, but now the base will allow them to forge closer ties and work together more effectively.

Mr Arkley said: "Instead of the police being the major players and joining us about every four weeks, we will all be in the same building working on mainly the same projects.

"For example, if we have a problem with anti-social behaviour, the youth offending team will work with the youth strategy officer, the community support unit and all the other key people.

"Service delivery will be much more closely co-ordinated."

To coincide with the move, the partnership is preparing a crime and disorder strategy to cover the next three years