VIOLENCE and the people who commit it will be targeted it in a police war against a growing scourge on South Warwickshire streets.

Operation Impact on Violence was launched on Tuesday after officers agreed it was time to challenge Warwickshire's statistical position as the safest place in the country as long as it meant hidden violent crime could be dragged into the open.

The tide of violent crime is growing, with Stratford's sleepy market town image being rocked in recent weeks by a rape, two sexual assaults and a number of alcohol-fuelled street brawls.

The operation follows the tremendous success of Operation Impact on Burglary earlier this year, an initiative that saw the number of break-ins reduced thanks to a highly visible police presence on the street.

"Warwickshire may be the safest place to live on paper, but there is a lot of unreported crime and we want to bring that into the open and find out exactly how much violence there really is," said acting assistant chief constable Derek Cake.