LANCASHIRE'S top policeman today accused TV crime shows of helping crooks to avoid justice.

Acting chief constable Steve Finnigan said his officers were being forced to 'work harder' because tricks of the crime-solving trade were being revealed in dramas such as Silent Witness and The Bill.

Today, Rossendale and Darwen MP Janet Anderson, who sits on the culture, media and sport commons select committee, said it was an issue the Government should investigate.

Mr Finnigan said: "You could say they are giving away some of the tricks of the trade.

"We do have a problem that sometimes television does give too much away, and that certainly doesn't help us. It means we have to work harder.

"Particularly with serious crime, there is a need for us to stay one step ahead all the time, because criminals will use anything they can to try and get away.

"The things being shown on television aren't helping us."

He believes a merger with Cumbria Constabulary, as part of a national shake-up of police forces to reduce the total number, would assist their tackling of high-level crime.

He said: "A merger of the two forces, which is our preferred option, would obviously generate savings, because we wouldn't need two of everything.

"I would hope that those savings would remain with us, and enable us to employ more officers.

"Then the more experienced officers could move into things like our major crime units. A couple of hundred extra officers working on things like that would help us keep one step ahead, regardless of what was on the television."

Inspector Andrea Bradbury from Darwen police said she has been concerned about the content of some of the documentaries she has seen about the police.

She said: "It can't be wise to reveal techniques that the police use in solving crimes on the television.

"Showing how crimes are solved is not always in the public interest.

"Sometimes it can act as a deterrent but other times showing sophisticated detection techniques can only help the criminals."

Mrs Anderson said: "I think Mr Finnigan has a point which needs to be investigated, perhaps by the select committee, which I will suggest."

"Broadcasters have a responsibility to make sure that their dramas do not jeopardise police operations."

A spokesman for the BBC, whose dramas include Silent Witness, Murphy's Law, 55 Degrees North and Dalziel and Pascoe, said: "Our dramas aim to be as realistic as possible and we have not had any complaints."