A month-long crackdown on burglaries in Essex has resulted in a total of 77 arrests.

Operation Relentless - Essex Police's initiative to identify and arrest known burglars and provide the public with security information - came to an end last week.

The results also show on top of the extra arrests, police detected a further 109 offences spread across the county.

The operation - which ran from Thursday, May 1, to Friday, May 23 - aimed to tackle the countywide problem of house burglaries.

Across south Essex, 17 people were arrested and 39 crimes detected in Basildon, there were three arrests and one crime uncovered in Rayleigh, and seven arrests and three crimes were found in Southend.

Five people were also arrested in Thurrock with 18 crimes being unearthed by officers.

Head of crime Chief Supt Steve Reynolds said: "This shows our commitment to tackling the core crimes which cause distress to those across Essex."

Published Tuesday, May 27, 2003

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