THE number of offenders being brought to justice is on the increase, according to new figures.

The latest quarterly performance figures for Greater Manchester show a total of 62,020 offences were dealt with over a three month period up to June this year.

This equates to 170 every day and represents an increase of 11.6 per cent.

Assistant Chief Constable Rob Taylor, the vice chairman of Greater Manchester Local Criminal Justice Board said: "Bringing offenders to justice is the best way of demonstrating to criminals that their crimes will not go unpunished, and to victims that the criminal justice system is acting effectively on their behalf.

"We recognise that there is a justice gap, but these latest results show that we are making significant steps in reducing this and improving the service we deliver to the people of Greater Manchester."

Tactics used by the board to narrow the justice gap include encouraging better practice and joined-up working between the criminal justice agencies, tackling particular types of offences such as street crime and targeting specific offenders through multi-agency strategies.

Members have also met Government targets set for reducing ineffective trials in the Crown Courts and Magistrates' Courts and reducing the time from arrest to sentence for persistent young offenders.

And, improvements have been made in the areas of confidence in the criminal justice system, payment rates for court fines and timeliness of cases in the courts.