himself to getting his force back in touch with "Mr. and Mrs. Public'' on the street.

Mr. Edwards, who became Commissioner last month, said computers and code-a-phones were no substitute for officers having real contact with people out on the beat.

He reaffirmed his support for parish constables and said Police had to respond quicker and be less heavy-handed.

Speaking to Hamilton Lions, Mr. Edwards said service and communication were vitally important for the force, and that message had to get through to officers.

"There has to be some rebuilding,'' he said. "The public perception of the Police force has changed a lot in the last few years.

"People who were always on the side of the Police, because they realised it was a very difficult and onerous job, were always the majority. What has caused me a lot of concern in recent years is that the people you felt were there for you were getting very critical.

"Where a heavy hand is needed a heavy hand will have to be administered. But the amount of complaints we have had to deal with in the last few years has caused me a lot of concern.'' He was telling officers to be "much more caring and in touch with what is going on''.

Mr. Edwards traced the problem of communication back to drugs. "Once upon a time we always saw the drugs scene in one particular part of Hamilton,'' he said. Suddenly it spread "all over the place'', leading to redeployment of officers and a more mobile force.

"It got the job done but it left us with a void,'' said Mr. Edwards. "We were not in contact with the everyday person. We lost contact with Mr. and Mrs. Public at grass roots level because suddenly there were no Police officers on the streets of Hamilton.'' Redeployment had also affected programmes to keep Police in touch with schoolchildren, and even an empty Birdcage at times.

The public wanted to talk to a Policeman and see and feel the person they were dealing with, he said. The parish constable was vital and putting officers back on the beat was a high priority.

Turning to response time, he said: "Our response time might not be as quick as it might be. We have got to make it quicker. We have to put people out there so they can be readily contacted.

"We have got to listen to the public. A Police force is only as good as the public it serves and as it is perceived by that public. If we don't listen to them we're not on a winning wicket.''