The busy shopping areas of Tottenham and Wood Green are set to be safer places after the introduction of two new anti-crime initiatives.

A higher than usual police presence will be patrolling the High Road in Tottenham in a bid to cut down on crime during the Christmas period.

Chris Lane, High Road manager, said: "We are trying to create a safe and secure High Road. We're working desperately hard to get people back to use the High Road."

The purge will see the police targeting all areas of crime on the High Road.

This follows on from the success of last year's experiment of closed circuit cameras in the High Road.

Crime was reduced by 79 per cent as a result of four cameras positioned in the mid-Tottenham area.

Mr Lane added that permanent cameras in the High Road are in the pipeline for next year.

A separate project launched by Hornsey police and Wood Green town centre management is also aiming to clamp down on thieves.

Called the Retail Alliance Intelligence and Database, or RAID, the system will enable police and retailers to exchange information on crime in Wood Green.

The police will be using a portable digital camera to record photographs of known criminals which will be stored on databases and circulated amongst

retailers.

Sergeant Lee Adamson, stationed at Wood Green, said: "RAID has provided another excellent opportunity for police and the local community to work together in a bid to detect

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