POLICE are determined to stop troublemakers who are making Swindon residents' lives a misery. With the help of Anti Social Behaviour Orders, allowing magistrates to ban yobs from certain areas, problems are being controlled.

Another useful weapon in the police's arsenal include Dispersal Orders.

Officers have hailed the success of the initiative which has helped crackdown on rowdiness.

In a return to old-fashioned policing methods, constables can frogmarch misbehaving youths back to their parents to demand an explanation for their behaviour.

If youths return within 24 hours and are seen to be causing trouble they can be arrested and taken before the courts.

Work to tackle anti-social behaviour has been boosted by government cash after Swindon was one of 50 areas that have been named as Together Action Areas. This recognised the town's work in tackling anti-social behaviour.

And now Swindon Council has launched a hotline which residents can ring with complaints about yobs.

Phone 01793 466738.

Car crimeTHEFTS from vehicles were on the decline weeks after the Adver's anti-car crime campaign.

Figures showed that the number of cars broken into has decreased but police admit there is still a lot of work to do.

Last year the Adver launched the Keep Your Car Clear poster campaign.

Measures to prevent motorists becoming victims include not leaving your vehicle unlocked, don't leave valuables on display and park in a well-lit area.

Chief Supt Tatam said: "Vehicle crime remains one of our priorities. We have specialist people looking at it and we hope figures will continue to fall."

DrugsPOLICE are cracking down on drug dealers with intensive operations in the town centre.

Officers have started the year with a message to drug dealers- we will put you behind bars.

A string of raids and stop-and-searches in the centre of the town in recent weeks has netted £20,000 of heroin and crack.

Half the drugs seized were found in one house in County Road.

Several arrests have been made but the crackdown will continue.

Police are targeting the area stretching from the Railway Village to the County Ground, including Manchester Road.

It is hoped that tackling the drug problem will have a knock on effect on the vice trade which has blighted parts of the centre around Broad Street.

And with the help of the Adver-backed Swindon Drugs Hotline tip offs from the public have led to arrests.

BurglaryA TASKFORCE is helping the town to win the war against burglars.

Since Operation Delta was launched in 2003 burglary rates, which were soaring, have reduced by one third.

Shortly after its launch, rates of 100 a month were halved, and the success led to the squad being kept on indefinitely. Operation Delta officers work closely with prison authorities so they know when burglars are poised for release.

Detectives keep tabs on known offenders once they are back in the community.

Computer technology also plays a crucial role as a state-of-the-art system is used to log details of burglaries. The system helps detectives link a spate of burglaries to one offender.

It also makes it easier to reunite owners with their stolen property.

Police also use large Swindon companies to get crime prevention messages to thousands of people.