A crime-fighting campaign which has nearly halved robbery levels in Bristol has been praised by the Home Office. The police and council-led Street Crime Initiative was set up in April 2002 when incidents were at their highest.
Fast-responding "Q cars" and "personal space" boxes at cash machines are among the efforts said to have helped cut robberies by 46%.
Policing minister Hazel Blears said: "This is a tremendous achievement that we can all be proud of."
The figure is nearly twice the national average reduction and equates to 808 fewer victims over the last two years.
Drugs-related
Many of the robberies were said to have been fuelled by a massive influx of crack cocaine on to the streets of Bristol.
Operation Atrium was set up by Avon and Somerset police to target drug suppliers, believed to be connected to an organised Jamaican crime network.
Both initiatives have worked hand-in-hand to tackle drugs-related crime.
Detective Superintendent Gary Davies said: "We must now look to the future and continue to reduce the levels of robbery and increase the amount of detections across the city."
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