Beat bobbies cutting crime by up to 50%

A pioneering policing experiment in London has brought a dramatic drop in crime, first results show today.

The trial of "neighbourhood policing", in which six officers patrol a small patch full-time, has been seized on by Tony Blair as a model for the country to tackle anti-social behaviour.

The Evening Standard has learned that links between the teams of officers and communities have been so successful in trials that police have even received tip-offs by text.

Announcing the plan in one of his final acts as Home Secretary, David Blunkett said he wanted officers to be on first-name terms with residents and to be available on their mobile phones.

The idea is being tried in 95 neighbourhoods in London and will extend to a further 160 areas next year, with similar schemes promised across the country. According to police figures released to the Standard, burglaries fell by 50 per cent and robberies by 33 per cent in the first six months of the scheme in Welling, Kent.

Warning letters have been sent to 60 families telling them their children have been spotted in bad company and hundreds of residents have turned up to meetings with police. Incoming Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair said the initiative showed "the Met is reclaiming the streets".

Mayor Ken Livingstone has promised to extend neighbourhood policing, although funding is not yet in place.

In each scheme, six officers - a sergeant, two constables and three uniformed civilian wardens, called community support officers - are assigned to a council ward. Between April and September 2003 there were 137 burglaries, 39 robberies and 94 vehicle crimes in Welling. In the same period last year, burglaries fell to 68 and robberies to 24. Vehicle crimes rose, however, to 99.

Tracey Bush, 23, is one of the new community support officers. She said she had gained the trust of teenagers, who kept her up to date by word of mouth and used their mobiles to send her text messages. "We're there so that people feel safe and to get some respect into the children," she said.