POLICE in Blackburn have teamed up with employment bosses in a pioneering doorstep bid to coax suspected criminals out of crime and into work.

The scheme, believed to be the first of its kind in the country, involves police officers and employment staff visiting suspected offenders in their homes.

As well as handing them a letter warning that they are suspected of being involved in criminal activity and are being watched by police, those visited will be offered advice on how to steer clear of crime and how to get back into employment.

The initiative, which targeted 18 people at addresses in Blackburn, is part of Operation Enforce, launched last weekend as a way to cut rising crime in the town.

The high profile operation is a response to a recent increase in burglary and vehicle crime in the town centre, Mill Hill and Fishmoor areas.

Police figures for October for the whole of Blackburn show that on average there have been seven burglaries a day with the highest count standing at 11 in one day.

Vehicle crime figures show an average of four offences a day with eight the highest in one day.

This compares with an average of five burglaries for the same period last year and five vehicle crimes.

The pilot scheme may be repeated if it proves successful in steering suspected offenders away from a life of crime and back into employment.

Sergeantt Peter Moore, who ran yesterday's operation, said: "This is all part of Operation Enforce during which we will be targeting

people who have been or may be still be involved in crime.

"As well as giving them information about the operation and warning them, they will be targeted if they commit crime.

"We will also be offering them information on employment opportunities in a bid to improve their self-esteem. It's all about getting people away from offending."

Carol Perry, of the Blackburn Employment Service's Action For Jobs team, added: "We are aiming to address employment problems and break through any barriers that people may have to getting a job.

"We work closely with all agencies, including the police and the prison service, but this is a novel way of offering people the chance to see what services we have on offer.

"We are not pressurising people into getting a job but giving them advice and the chance to see us."