THE success of the Evening Press-backed winter crime crackdown Operation Ratcatcher has been welcomed by North Yorkshire's chief constable.

Della Cannings said Operation Ratcatcher - a partnership between the Evening Press, North Yorkshire Police, Safer York Partnership and Crimestoppers - was "an excellent example" of how partnerships and the public could help intelligence-led policing.

"I commend the work that has gone on in Operation Ratcatcher," she told the meeting of York and Selby's community and police groups in York last night.

Inspector Kevin Doyle, who came up with the idea, said the campaign had shown how "people power" could help have an impact on crime and the fear of crime in city communities.

Detective Constable Hugh Carruthers, of Crimestoppers, said the initiative had seen an "unprecedented" rise in the number of tip-offs phoned in to Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 from the public in the York area - more than 100 since the launch.

These had so far led to 52 arrests and the recovery of drugs and thousands of pounds worth of stolen goods.

Between October and December house burglaries in the York and Selby area had been cut by 33 per cent, from 640 to 464, and car crime was down by ten per cent, compared to the same period last year.

Updated: 12:24 Thursday, January 23, 2003