TWO new beat officers based at Coleford and Cinderford are part of a major police drive to improve rural policing.
PC Rob Dix and PC Roger Hall are being stationed in the Forest as part of a two-year action plan to put more community officers in country areas and improve contact between the police and the public.
"Their role will not include front-line response policing, enabling them to dedicate their time to more traditional community policing," states Gloucestershire Constabulary.
"The strategy is a long term plan focusing on issues raised by residents in rural communities and is the culmination of 18 months' work by senior officers from across the force."
As well as the new designated rural beat officers the strategy aims to provide:
•A county-wide Rural Watch network.
•A more visible police presence in villages and hamlets.
•New specialist rural policing teams to target rural crime.
•Panels to give rural residents the chance to air their views.
•Better contact, especially telephone availability, between the public and police.
The running of the new county-wide Rural Watch will be carried out by the rural beat officers, who hope to sign up people working in remote areas such as farmers, gamekeepers, estate managers and landowners.
"It will both support and complement the county's hundreds of existing and highly successful Neighbourhood Watch Schemes," say the police.