By Craig Manning

THE GLOBE has been praised by Wirral's top police officer for our part in a crackdown on domestic violence.

Chief Superintendent Val Barker said it is important that coverage given in our pages to the "zero tolerance" campaign continues to raise awareness in the borough.

And he went on to condemn people who cause violence in the home as 'sinister and cowardly.'

His comments came during a special event held to mark the ongoing success of Operation Goodwill - the force's strict policy aimed at eradicating domestic violence.

Chief Barker said: "This offence is sinister and it's cowardly. The critical issue, for me, is that we have to deal with very serious cases. That's how I view domestic violence. We are dealing with the issue of it positively in Merseyside. There will be a zero tolerance and taking no action is not an option. It's through campaigns like this that we have to get real."

Sixth-form students from St Mary's College, Wallasey, performed a play highlighting the devastating effects of domestic violence, which was written by the students and directed by Mary Ross, a victim of domestic violence.

Judge Marilyn Mornington told the conference at the Village Hotel, Bromborough: "There is so much more everyone of us wants to do to make this initiative a success. Wirral is the first area chosen. We have been asked to submit our ideas, and send them to domestic violence case reviews for inclusion in case conferences. The government itself is going to target more areas with this initiative."

Police launched the campaign over Christmas and New Year at the end of 2001. Officers made 195 domestic violence arrests during the three-week period in 2002, compared to 178 in 2001, and 108 in 2000.

The high profile enjoyed by Operation Goodwill led to record numbers of telephone calls being made to crisis help centres in Wirral last Christmas.