Almost £175,000 has been spent on crime-fighting schemes over the past 12 months through Keighley Anti-Crime Partnership.

Lawkholme, Silsden, Holycroft, Showfield, Woodhouse, Eastwood and Church Green were among areas to benefit.

Police and council officers worked with schools, residents and town centre shops on the six community-based initiatives.

The Government provided most of the money for the projects, through funds such as Neighbourhood Renewal and Safer Communities.

Keighley Anti-Crime Partnership's role is to bring people and organisations together to promote crime-prevention schemes. It aims to reduce crime and disorder so the Keighley area is safer for residents, workers and visitors.

One of the partnership's biggest initiatives was a £10,000 "Communities Against Drugs" week in the Lawkholme, Eastwood, Showfield and Dalton Lane areas.

More than 1,000 parents and children attended drugs awareness sessions run by police and other agencies.

There was a significant increase in residents reporting drug dealers, and people living in the Lund Park, Holycroft and Highfield areas have asked for similar events.

A package of burglary-reduction measures included a dedicated intelligence officer to help stop houses being raided for a second time. E-mail phones were given to Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinators and security was improved around at-risk houses and businesses.

Automated Number Plate Recognition technology, which can check 1,200 cars per hour, watched the movements of illegal vehicles in areas of high burglary.

In a separate project, specialist officers worked with children coming to the attention of police for the first time, to ensure they stayed out of trouble in the future.

Over the past year there has been a significant improvement in the numbers of children re-offending.

The scheme worked in conjunction with a separate police officer employed to patrol Greenhead, Oakbank and Holy Family schools.

Several other projects received support from the anti-crime partnership during the 12 months up to April this year including:

l Mobile CCTV cameras in the Church Green area and improved security for 14 nearby shops

l A new group supporting girls at risk of sexual exploitation

l "Visual audits" to identify crime-reduction priorities in particular neighbourhoods

l Replacing planters in the Holycroft area

l Clearing and developing land in Grouse Street, Eastwood.

l Street-lighting improvements and beck cleaning in Silsden

l Youth activities in the Woodhouse and Spring Bank area

l Floodlighting in the North Beck House car park

l Two minority community liaison officers to work with young people in Lund Park

l Work with burglary victims to ensure they are not raided again.

Keighley Area Committee, Bradford Council's local decision-making body, discussed the report last week. The committee is identifying potential priorities for the Anti-Crime Partnership over the next eight months.