Don’t be surprised to find the police standing on your doorstep as officers have started knocking on doors to try to improve their relationship with the public.Constables are “returning to old-fashioned, grassroots policing” as they go from house to house across the Island to formerly introduce themselves.Officers started to “reach out to the community” at the weekend by focusing on trouble hot spots known as gang strongholds of 42, Parkside and MOB (Money Over B******).But homes across the island can expect a visit in the coming months as officers try to quell people’s fears about the growing tide of gun violence.It is hoped that this face-to-face approach will help improve the police’s reputation among those people who have been reluctant to come forward as witnesses.Minister of National Security Wayne Perinchief has spearheaded the police’s island-wide door-knock as there have been 16 gun murders in two years.He said: “This is part of the police strategy to re-energise and re-empower communities at a grassroots level.“Knocking on doors enables the police to stay connected with their neighbours. We also want to heighten the awareness of the police and what they do. This will be comforting for those who are feeling intimidated in these times.“Officers have started knocking on doors and people are going to be seeing a lot more of it. They will be going into every area, it’s going to be like door-to-door inquiries.”Over the Bermuda Day holiday weekend uniformed patrols knocked on doors in St. Monica’s Road, Deep Dale and Middletown in the central area, St. David’s Cricket Club and Witton Lane in the East, and Woodlawn Road and Boaz Island in the West.Residents were said to be “surprised” and “shocked” to open the door to police officers, but they told The Royal Gazette they were “pleased to see the police doing something” as it offered them “peace of mind.”Residents were grateful to have the opportunity to meet and speak to police officers and often invited them in for food and drinks.Mr Perinchief said he was continuing to have meetings with the Island’s MPs and Communication Action Team officers to ask them to come together to “help reconnect with communities.” He has already met with MPs Michael Weeks and Terry Lister and is due to meet MP Zane DeSilva today.Mr Perinchief said: “We are trying to dampen down any feelings of intimidation. We want people to know that the police will be quick to help them and take action.“We are trying to get the message out there parish-by-parish, constituency-by-constituency until we have the Island covered.”Mr Perinchief said knocking on people’s doors was part of what he called “a wider community outreach programme.”He hopes the door-to-door introductions will result in the setting up of more Neighbourhood Watch groups to work directly with police Community Action Teams and Parish Councils.Mr Perinchief said: “It’s all about cooperation and communities working with each other.“It’s a return to old-fashioned, grassroots policing. We’re not reinventing the wheel, but we’re just getting it turning a bit more.”Police Commissioner Michael DeSilva said 85 percent of police officers now worked as uniform patrol officers, CAT officers or detectives focusing on gangs, guns, drugs and violence.He said: “Their job is to gather community intelligence, provide residents with a police point of contact, build public confidence and help strengthen neighbourhoods against crime.“They play a significant role in our three-pronged gang strategy: prevent and deter young persons from getting involved with gangs in the first place; catch and convict criminals that commit violence and hold them accountable; rehabilitate and resettle those offenders that genuinely seek an alternative to gang life.”Mr DeSilva added that the police were being praised on radio talk shows and blog sites for their increased visibility and this year’s first quarter Bermuda Omnibus Survey showed public confidence in the police was 71 percent.