COMMUNITY Support Officers could be patrolling the streets of Ludlow early in the New Year.
Paul West, chief constable of West Mercia Police, is a keen supporter of the scheme, which has operated with 10 officers in Herefordshire since March.
A further 29 are completing their training before being sent throughout the region.
Mr West insisted that using Community Support Officers, who have no powers of arrest, was not "policing on the cheap".
However they should be able to spend "in excess of 70 per cent of their time on patrol" against "as little as 20 per cent" for police officers.
Mr West moved from Thames Valley Police in August and has spent the past three months learning about the demands of a widespread rural area.
He has not yet decided how many Support Officers will be allocated to Ludlow but "we will put them where the need is."
His sees his priorities as reducing crime, increasing detection, cutting disorder and anti-social behaviour, reassuring the public and making the roads safer.
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