POLICE say a crackdown on violent crime and drugs is producing big results in Worcester.

An ongoing operation involving additional pat-rols in the city centre has seen the number of violent crimes drop by a third year-on-year.

Total crime figures for south Worcestershire show there were 156 violent offences recorded between August 1 and August 18 – 33 per cent down on the 189 recorded during the same period last year.

West Mercia Police say the biggest reductions have been seen in the centre of Worcester as well as Malvern and Evesham town centres.

The number of people being injured in violent incidents is also falling.

Since the start of April there have been 685 reports of people suffering injuries in violent incidents across south Worcestershire compared with 801 for the corresponding period last year, a reduction of 14.5 per cent.

South Worcestershire chief inspector Mark Steele said there has also been a reduction in drug offences, particularly in Worcester.

There were 13 drug offences recorded in the city between August 1 and August 18, a reduction of more than 40 per cent on the 22 during the same period last year.

Across south Worcestershire drug offences fell from 34 to 28, with more than half of the offences for possessing cannabis.

The improvements coincide with West Mercia Police’s Call Time on Violent Crime campaign, which has seen thousands of beer mats, posters and flyers urging people to drink sensibly, stay safe and keep out of trouble distributed.

Ch Insp Steele said nearly half of all violent incidents are alcohol-related. He welcomed the improvements but stressed there is “no room for complacency”.

“It’s clear our actions are having an impact, especially in the city centre, and we recognise we must maintain our efforts to ensure the trend continues,” he said.

“The improvements are partly down to additional proactive uniform policing in Worcester city centre and whenever possible, we will continue this policy at key times.

“Our aim is to reduce violent crime even further, to improve safety for everyone in the city centre so that people can enjoy the night-time economy without risk of becoming involved in trouble.”