POLICE are turning to the public to take a greater part in crime fighting after the success of a scheme to reduce burglary in the Wycombe area.

Officers in Chiltern Vale are trying to increase the 'awareness of the role that residents themselves can play in safeguarding their property'.

The scheme, called Operation Gate, aims to close in on burglary by educating residents in crime prevention.

It will build on the success of the Home Office Burglary Reduction Programme which helped to reduce burglaries in Booker, Castlefield, Downley and Sands areas of High Wycombe by 28 per cent from October 1999 to September 2000.

This work will now be extended to other areas officers are currently focusing on Totteridge before the project moves on to Micklefield, Cressex and parts of Marlow.

Police will be delivering free packs of crime prevention material and security-marking kits to a large number of residents in these areas before calling on as many homes as possible to give additional crime prevention advice.

Burglary reduction manager Gillian Stimpson said: "We were delighted with the results of the first project which helped Chiltern Vale Police Area to achieve one of the biggest burglary reductions in Thames Valley.

"With this new phase of work we hope to see this downward trend continue."