Cambridge City Councillors teamed up with a new police patrol unit on the city centre’s streets to see first hand how they are cracking down on alcohol-fuelled crime.

Liberal Democrats Tim Bick, Andrea Reiner and Colin Rosenstiel joined the officers after pushing for more police action on the large number of incidents in the city centre.

They were worried about the level of crime late at night and in the early hours of the morning when drinkers leave pubs and restaurants.

But since the new 15-strong city centre police unit was set up three months ago crime has reduced by 12.4 per cent over the same period last year. Violent crime has fallen by 19.2 per cent, anti-social behaviour is down 25.5 per cent and alcohol-related incidents fell by 12.4 per cent. There have also been reductions in cycle theft (29.2 per cent) and shoplifting (14.2 per cent).

“It was very clear that the visibility of the police on foot patrol is an invaluable deterrent and a sign of security,” said Cllr Bick, Cambridge City Executive Councillor for Community Safety. “To have a team dedicated 24 hours a day to the city centre means that relationships get built and knowledge accumulates.

“Early signs that the unit is having a real impact on crime figures are extremely encouraging. We will be reporting back to the city and county council on several ideas we picked up to improve the situation such as providing better positioned bins to avoid the build up of litter in some places.”

Cllr Rosenstiel said: “We saw the officers dealing with people who had been excluded from licensed premises, first trying to talk them away from further trouble, sometimes having to resort to a dispersal order.”

Cllr Andrea Reiner said: “We were able to get a real understanding of what the police are facing and how they deal with incidents.”