BURNLEY police have adopted a tactic used by cops in Chicago in a bid to tackle crime hotspots.

Officers are moving out of the police station and on to the streets for their daily briefing as a way of increasing their visibility to target offenders and reassure the public.

Dozens of officers have already swooped on Thompson Park for a first 'on-street briefing' after a recent spate of mobile phone robberies.

The tactic -- first used in Chicago around five years ago -- will now be used by other officers throughout the Pennine Division.

There had been around 10 mobile phone robberies in the past month around Thompson Park and Burnley College's Ormerod Road site involving teenagers tricking unsus-pecting victims. A number of pupils from St Theodore's High School were also targeted.

Insp Damian Darcy said the move proved successful after a suspect was arrested by officers taking part in a briefing.

He said: "We had been toying with the idea for a while to start using this tactic which has proved successful in Chicago. It is the first time it has been used in Pennine Division. It is a good idea to be out on the streets to conduct our briefing rather than being inside the police station.

"The initiative reassures the community that we are there and it puts offenders on the back foot because a lot of police in the area get intelligence of what's going on.

"And that's what happened when we went into Towneley Park as an officer spotted a person fitting the description we had of an offender and he was arrested at the scene."

Officers handed out leaflets and gave advice to pupils walking through the park while gathering intelligence about the crimes.

John O'Brien, associate head of St Theodore's, said: "The school is pleased with the work undertaken by the police in tackling this matter."