POLICE have hailed a partnership aimed at bringing criminals to book.

The first annual review of Northumbria's Criminal Justice Strategy shows how a "coordinated approach is helping to reduce crime and the fear of crime, and dispense justice fairly and efficiently".

Northumbria Chief Constable Crispian Strachan said: "This is a landmark report which acknowledges the high level of co-operation between all the criminal justice agencies. It demon- strates quite clearly that we all have individual strengths which, when combined, are an effective, efficient response to those who break the law."

The review covers work carried out by Northumbria Police, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Probation Service, Newcastle Crown Court, magistrates, youth offending teams and the prison service.

According to the report, people in Northumbria have less chance of becoming a victim of crime than in other urban force areas, and more crimes are detected than in other urban forces.