Police in Bradford are stepping up their fight to crack down on domestic violence.

West Yorkshire Police this week launched their first county-wide awareness campaign, focusing on those suspected of committing domestic violence.

The hard-hitting campaign includes special arrest days with suspects being detained. It is backed by advertisements on radio, washroom posters and beermats in pubs and clubs.

The initiative is building on work already under way in Bradford to tackle the problem.

Last August, Bradford North Police set up a specialist violent crime team, made up of a sergeant and five PCs. There has been a 20 per cent reduction in offences in the last three months.

Inspector Mel Siddall, of Bradford North Police, said that since last summer domestic violence had been dealt with as a priority crime.

She said: "Officers now have to take a victim's statement before they go off duty and we are out looking for offenders 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"It has been very effective and we have reduced the number of outstanding offenders from between 30 and 40 to around six."

A new risk assessment system was pioneered by West Yorkshire Police, in which domestic violence co-ordinators focus on six specialist factors - like contact with children, cultural isolation and stalking.

Susequentky there were 622 fewer incidents in the Bradford district in 2004 than the previous year and a reduction in the number of repeat victims.

Insp Siddall said five days of action were taking place in the division in February to arrest domestic violence offenders.

Beer mats and posters with hard-hitting messages, warning those committing domestic violence they have nowhere to hide, have been distributed in hotspot areas.

Police have also teamed up with Bradford Council to visit the worst ten offenders and victims.

Detective Inspector Steve Hopwood, of Bradford South Police, said the tackling of the issue in the division was a success story.

"We have asked people to report domestic violence," he said. "People wanted for these offences are arrested within two days. As a result the number of repeat victims has gone down."

Chief Superintendent Max McLean, head of West Yorkshire Police's Crime Division, said they wanted perpetrators of domestic violence to know that action would be taken against them.

He said: "This month of action is another way of reminding those people who have committed this type of crime that we know who they are and we are never far away.

"This is a crime which wrecks the lives of thousands of adults and children each year in the UK. It is a major cause of family distress and social exclusion and is something which this force is determined to tackle.

"Incidents of domestic violence are rarely a one-off event. One violent incident tends to lead to another and such incidents often increase in frequency and severity over time. Every effort must be made to break this chain of events."

Last year the force responded to 35,000 incidents of domestic violence. Each police division now has a specialist domestic violence co-ordinator and work is carried out with partner agencies to share information and manage those most at risk.

Chief Supt McLean said: "We want victims to be confident that if they do report incidents to police we will take action, regardless of sexual orientation or gender."