Community policing will be at the heart of Police Commissiner Mr. Colin Coxall's plans to restrucutre the Police service.

Described as the "very front line'' of Police work, it is hoped that with the release of officers through civilianisation, the numbers of Parish Constables can be doubled. There are currently one or two Constables per parish.

A high profile in the community will be cultivated, involving greater use of the Bermuda Police Reserve, and officers will be involved in criminal investigations, according the the Police Service Strategy released yesterday.

To help young officers adapt to the role, a tutor scheme will be set up where rookie Police will be trained in "best practice'' by their older colleagues.

Community Policing will also place emphasis on involving the young through a schools' programme plus teaching packs for children aged between five and 16 which will include anti-drugs material.

One officer from the Bermuda force is being sent to Mr. Coxall's old stamping ground, the Thames Valley Police in England, to study schools' teaching packs.

Parish `watch' schemes, where people are encouraged to be "nosy neighbours' and report anything suspicious, will also be created and more people encouraged to join the Reserve.

In the Strategy, Mr. Coxall writes: "Community policing must be considered as the very front line for the delivery of policing.

"There should be no part of the community which does not regularly have the opportunity to contact patrol officers.''