even on a temporary basis -- is short-sighted.

While it is doubtless true that officers are needed elsewhere and they will be of great use, the move suggests that the leaders of the Service consider community policing to be less important than other aspects of fighting crime.

When the Service Strategy was unveiled by former Commissioner Colin Coxall, the Parish constable scheme was rightly seen as being a key to changing the Police from a "force'' into a "service''.

In many ways, community policing is no different from preventive medicine, which cuts illnesses and injuries in the long term by encouraging people to reduce risks through healthy lifestyles. This reduces suffering and the high cost of curing patients, but often the results will not be seen for decades.

Community policing does the same thing; it prevents damage to property and people, and avoids the expense of detection and prosecution.

But it requires a long term effort which may take years to come to fruition -- and even when it does, it is not easy to quantify. No-one will know for certain whether a young person who came to see Police officers as protectors and friends instead of as "the enemy'' would have turned to crime otherwise.

Instead, the evidence of successful community policing will come in the long term decline in crime rates.

The task forces to which at least some of the Parish constables have been assigned perform the other side of policing, moving from one location to another in force and actively seeking out people who are breaking the law.

This is dangerous work in which the officers must be prepared to defend themselves while carrying out their duties.

They are vital to continuing the groundwork laid down by Operation Cleansweep.

Bermudians have made it clear that they want safe streets where they are free from fear.

But community policing is equally important and the public needs to know that the Police are as committed to it as they are to detection of crime. It would be more sensible for the Government and Police to step up civilianisation and continue to move trained officers from behind their desks instead of shifting officers who are already pounding the beat.

Ord Road shopkeeper Richard Powell is right when he says in today's newspaper: "They are robbing Peter to pay Paul and they're definitely robbing the wrong Peter.''