REDUCING domestic violence, hate crime and alcohol-related anti-social behaviour will be top priorities for the police over the next 12 months.

They are the primary objectives set by the Lancashire force, led by Chief Constable Paul Stephenson in its plan for 2004-2005, a document all forces are required to produce for the Home Office.

Dr Ruth Henig, chair of the Lancashire Police Authority, said: "The Constabulary's ambition is to be the best service in the country.

"I believe we are well on the way to achieving this. The Police Authority will continue to work with the constabulary on behalf of the people of Lancashire to build on that success and to ensure the continued delivery of high-quality policing services.

"This plan is therefore an important step towards the achievement of the constabulary's ambition."

Talking about alcohol-related anti-social behaviour, the 74-page document says: "We know that people want us to tackle these issues as a high priority.

"We aim to constantly improve our performance in this area."

It proposes that community beat managers will play more of a role in communities to stamp out drinking, that anti-social behaviour is dealt with strictly by the courts and that youngsters causing trouble are put on good behaviour contracts.

The report says that the constabulary and police authority "are united in taking a firm stand against any form of racism, homophobia or other manifestations of prejudice.

"We will continue to explore new ways of engaging with minority groups to assist us in shaping the services we provide so that we are able to continually improve our ability to meet the needs of all our communities."

Domestic violence will be tackled by undertaking risk assessments, identifying repeat victims and the targeting of persistent offenders.

The report says: "Domestic violence continues to be an area of concern to the public of Lancashire. We have acknowledged this by placing a particular emphasis on this type of crime."

Other objectives in the plan include improving road safety, bringing more offenders to justice, tackling class A drugs offences, burglary and vehicle crime, and, for the second year running, countering terrorism.