IF, as Lancashire's Chief Constable Pauline Clare explains, the £8 million extra her force is getting from taxpayers will not put any more bobbies on the beat -- because it is being soaked up through the funding of police pay rises and pensions -- is it not obvious that she must make the best use of the officers she has got?

All right, in comparison with other forces Lancashire Constabulary has a shining record in reducing crime. But, why, once again, are precious police resources being frittered on cracking down on a crime that is hardly a major problem any more?

For launched this week, as part of a national fixation that the police are gripped by at Christmas and New Year, is Lancashire's annual overkill campaign against drink-drivers.

Don't get me wrong. All over-the-limit motorists deserve having the book thrown at them -- even to the extent of jail.

But why go to so much trouble for so little effect?

In last year's seasonal crackdown, Lancashire police randomly -- lawfully, Mrs Clare? -- stopped more than 12,800 drivers at checkpoints, with the grand total of just four arrests. Is that really a worthwhile and value-for-money use of manpower and expenditure? Yes, I know that great claims are made for the deterrent value of these highly-publicised spot checks -- which might positively explain the abysmal arrest rate.

But might it also explain that drinking and driving is just not the problem that is assumed by this wasteful sledgehammer approach?

Altogether, just 265 drivers were prosecuted for being over the limit during last year's seasonal campaign, indicating that all but a tiny fraction of drivers are sticking to the limit. Couldn't our bobbies be much more usefully employed cracking down on much more numerous criminals?