THE presence and visibility of police officers in the community is a powerful force in the fight against crime.

And this is recognised by the strength of public demand for more bobbies on the beat.

For not only is their presence a potent deterrent to criminals, it is a reassuring sign to members of the public that their homes and streets are being protected. And this is boosted when people know the officers on patrol know both the territory and its residents.

It is a situation that fosters confidence and trust in the police far more than motorised policing can and encourages the flow of information to them about crime in the community and its perpetrators.

But with finite and stretched resources -- highlighted only recently by the manpower curbs stemming from cutbacks in Lancashire Constabulary's budget -- fully-extensive community policing is an ideal that is hard for the force to maintain.

How adaptive, then, is the new initiative being tested in Burnley over the next two weeks to get closer to the community by holding mobile police 'surgeries' in a specially-modified caravan which will tour neighbourhoods in the town.

Manned by community beat officers, the mobile 'station' will offer advice and assistance to residents in the areas it calls at. Already, several of the town's community bobbies stage surgeries at schools and community centres in the localities they cover, but the police caravan is aimed at serving residents who cannot attend these places.

At a stroke, will increase accessibility to the police and put officers more closely in touch with the concerns residents and boost the anti-crime intelligence flow.

It is an experiment that could become a permanent feature of policing in Burnley if it proves successful and it has every promise of doing so. And against the background of ever-tighter police resources, it is a departure that deserves every trial -- and the support of the community.