A CRACKDOWN on crime in north Durham has targeted drug dealers, drunks and disorderly yobs.

Police arrested 15 people on suspicion of drug offences, most of them for supplying, as part of a three-week campaign during the summer holidays.

An extra 14 officers were drafted in to the Stanley Police area to target hot-spots and act on tip-offs from concerned residents.

Officers spoke to young people who were causing a nuisance in their community and seized alcohol from 44 underage drinkers.

The idea behind the StreetSafe initiative was to tackle anti-social behaviour in the town centre and surrounding areas and disrupt the supply of drugs.

Inspector Ian Proud, of Stanley Police, said: "The StreetSafe initiative has gone very well and officers have been extremely busy over the three-week period.

"Morale in the station was raised and continues to be very high. We have achieved what we set out to achieve.

"People often make a link between drugs, anti-social behaviour and theft. We have had a number of big seizures from people in the Stanley community and disrupted the supply chain to stop drugs getting on to the streets."

The initiative involved three teams dedicated to different areas of policing.

The proactive team acted on information from the community, the reactive team followed up ongoing inquiries while the community team increased its patrols in residential areas that are affected by disorder.

Insp Proud said: "The teams went from strength to strength as the workload grew and grew and there are some spin-off inquiries still ongoing.

"The community has become more and more aware of the police presence and feels more reassured.

"People should be confident the police will deal with whatever prevalent problem there is in their street or neighbourhood."

In the three weeks, there was also an increase in motor patrols, which saw 19 vehicles seized for failing to have tax or insurance.

Off-road motorcycling was tackled by two dedicated officers on motorbikes, who were able to catch offenders by chasing them down back streets and across fields.

A plan to cut crime by 15 per cent over the next three years is to be unveiled by the Derwentside Community Safety Partnership today.