Closer co-operation between criminal justice agencies in West Yorkshire has seen a sharp increase in offences dealt with by the courts.

The number of offences brought to justice has risen by 35 per cent since March 2002.

The West Yorkshire Criminal Justice Board says victims and witnesses have been given better support and there has been significant progress in increasing public confidence.

In 2004 there were 61,693 offences brought to justice in West Yorkshire, compared to 45,810 in March, 2002.

The percentage of fines collected has risen from 69 per cent at the start of 2004 to the target figure of 78 per cent by the end of the year.

Court cases are being dealt with more quickly. Crown court cases not dealt with on the day they were due to start fell from 23.9 per cent in August 2002 to 15.1 per cent by the end of last year. The figure for magistrates' courts fell from 29.8 to 24.6 in the same period.

British Crime Survey figures also show that public confidence in bringing offenders to justice rose from 35 per cent in March 2003 to 40 per cent in the year ending December 2004.

Chief Crown Prosecutor for West Yorkshire, Neil Franklin, who is chairman of the West Yorkshire Criminal Justice Board, said: "There has been a significant improvement in performance on offences brought to justice which reflects the determination and commitment of all the agencies to improve their services for the people of west Yorkshire.

"By continuing to work in partnership we aim to bring more offenders before the courts, ensure victims and witnesses are at the heart of the process and improve public confidence."

The figures show the number of "fail to appear" warrants executed within 14 days increased by seven per cent.

Earlier this year police executed 489 warrants, resulting in 444 arrests, during Operation Turn-up, which focused on defendants who had not turned up at court.

Inspector Tim Redhead, who led the operation, said: "The benefits are that we are bringing more offenders to justice and reducing the number of outstanding warrants.

"If more defendants are turning up at court, the victims and witnesses won't have had a wasted trip and we hope this will help to increase public confidence in the criminal justice system."

A witness care unit has been set up in Bradford which provides help and support to victims and prosecution witnesses.