NEARLY 800 people have been arrested in a police campaign aimed at catching up with a backlog of crime.The Days of Action campaign was launched by the new chief constable of Essex, Roger Baker, just days after he took up his post.

By Juliette Maxam

NEARLY 800 people have been arrested in a police campaign aimed at catching up with a backlog of crime.

The Days of Action campaign was launched by the new chief constable of Essex, Roger Baker, just days after he took up his post.

The force has used staff on standby during the week's G8 summit in Scotland to target criminals during the week-long campaign.

A backlog of people who are the subject of warrants for offences such as non-attendance at court or skipping bail have been arrested.

Countywide, the arrest figure after five Days of Action is approaching 800 – over and above what the force terms its "routine business" arrests. Some 87 were arrested on Friday and 130 on Saturday. Operation Days of Action ended last night .

Essex Police has also mounted a high-visibility policing operation to provide public reassurance in the wake of Thursday's attacks in London, using PCSOs and special constables.

Extra patrols are being undertaken and mainline railway stations have seen a police presence. This will continue over the coming week.

During Days of Action, various policing divisions in the county have also used the opportunity to raise the profile of crime reduction, giving advice on how people can reduce the risk of themselves or their homes becoming targets for criminals.

Chief Inspector Craig Robertson, of the Essex Police Days of Action planning team, said: "As well as responding to the heightened security situation, this ongoing operation shows that people who commit crime in this county can still expect us to come after them."

Chief Superintendent Graeme Bull said: "I think the public will feel even more secure having heard that, this week, Essex Police have arrested almost 800 offenders more than we usually do.

"I also suspect that a good number of offenders are still waiting for us to knock on their doors. The message is they will not have to wait much longer.

"Our staff have worked extremely hard to achieve this and can feel very proud."

He added that the operation had allowed Essex Police to build a clear picture of where it now wanted its "business as usual" to be.

"Despite all other demands on our resources this week, such as the terrorist attacks in London, our divisions now know that we can meet the expectations of our community," he said.

"We will be sending a police officer to investigate every crime, we will reassure people and we will prevent crimes occurring by arresting more offenders and bringing them to justice."

Mr Baker has urged people who know that they are wanted by police to hand themselves in at their local police station.