THE streets of Worcester should be safer if West Mercia police are successful in their biggest-ever recruitment drive to take on 300 extra officers during the coming year.

There is a desperate need for more police as the area currently has one of the lowest ratios of officers to population - only one for every 554 people.

It's hoped the force's first advertising campaign - spearheaded by the slogan, Be Somebody - will attract people from across the country.

The plan is to deploy 232 of the new officers across the force's six divisions, while the remaining 68 will join crime teams to improve detection rates and reduce the number of police taken off the beat during major incidents.

"A recent survey clearly showed that members of the communities served by West Mercia Constabulary were willing to pay for more officers on the beat," said Police Authority chairman, Brian Watkins.

"As a result, the police authority, who commissioned the poll, agreed to a budget that would enable the force to take on an additional 300 officers by April, 2003.

"The force is now pulling out all the stops to ensure that this extra uniformed presence is in place as quickly as possible,"

Chief Constable Peter Hampson said the extra officers would help to improve performance standards.

"We currently have one of the lowest proportions of police to population ratio, which is one for 544, and we need a minimum of 247 officers just to bring us up to the national average of one for every 495 peopl'' he said.

"We are aiming to attract transferees from other forces, who will be ready for almost immediate deployment.

"The majority will be new recruits who will have to undergo a two-year probationary-training programme before they become fully fledged officers. But they will spend a lot of that time on the beat under supervision."

Anyone interested in joining the force is asked to ring the recruitment hotline on 01905 455051.