A LEADING councillor is calling for more involvement from the public in the fight against crime.

Councillor Ken Walker, chairman of Cleveland Police Authority, said: "What is clear is that people are particularly concerned about issues of anti-social behaviour, and how that affects their quality of life - and this can cover everything from drug taking and under-age drinking to kerb crawling and vandalism.

"There is no doubt that one of the most important ways of dealing with these issues is through the force and local people working together, which is why we want to put resources into encouraging the development of more community policing initiatives, in many cases in partnership with local authorities, other agencies and the private sector."

His comments came as the Cleveland Police Authority published its policing plan for the next year.

One target the authority has set itself is to see more police officers on the street.

Coun Walker said: "The authority shares the public's clearly-stated wish to see more police officers working in local communities, and the year ahead holds out a real prospect of us making a significant difference.

"With the funding available through our own resources and the Government's crime fighting fund, we could be close to having 70 more officers by the end of the financial year."