ELEVEN of the 70 people arrested in the county wide police initiative, Operation Hawk, come from the Watford area.

Hertfordshire Constabulary made the arrests in early morning calls and raids during a two week period. People were targeted for burglary, handling stolen goods, robbery and theft.

Police made arrests across the county and in parts of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and London.

Two of the arrested people were from Bushey, two from Rickmansworth and two from St Albans.

The second highest number in Hertfordshire was seven, from Hemel Hempstead.

A spokesman for Hertfordshire Constabulary said: "We are not sure why Watford is the only place that has arrests in double figures it could be due to the density of the population compared to other towns."

Some of the arrests are the result of DNA and fingerprint evidence and police are planning to arrest more suspects over the weekend.

Assistant Chief Constable Simon Ash said: "We are pleased with the results of Operation Hawk in particular the number of people arrested for handling stolen goods as we are determined to target and arrest people involved in crime at all levels.

"Last year, Hertfordshire Constabulary adopted a new policing style. This involves the proactive use of information from the public and police sources to target criminals, arrest them and disrupt their activities.

"Operation Hawk is one of our initiatives aimed at transferring the fear away from the victims onto the criminals.

"Further Hawk and other similar operations will be planned throughout the year to maintain the pressure on criminals."