SUCCESS in the fight against crime will always depend on an effective partnership between the police and the people they serve.

Police officers will achieve much more if they can tap into the goodwill of local communities.

And yesterday’s drug raids in the Bishop Auckland area are an excellent example of that engagement.

Seven suspected drug dealers were arrested in the latest phase of Operation Nimrod – a high-profile assault on the parasites who spread misery through their illegal activities.

But the success of yesterday’s raids was not just about the handful of arrests that were made and the relatively small quantity of drugs taken off the streets.

It was about the extensive follow-up efforts by the police to make sure that the operation was as visible as possible.

After the raids, teams of officers were sent onto housing estates, erecting boards declaring “Drugs operation here”, pushing leaflets through thousands of doors, and going into schools to make sure young people were aware of the news.

The message spread swiftly and was abundantly clear: law-abiding people should know that their concerns are being heard, and law-breakers should know that they are being targeted.

It has to be the right strategy because it is aimed at getting decent people on the side of the police and strengthening the partnership which lies at the heart of beating crime.

Our congratulations to County Durham police on a job well done – and we look forward to more drug dealers being rooted out as Operation Nimrod continues.