Distinctive new front-line officers who will soon become a familiar sight on the streets of North Yorkshire have been paraded for the first time.
Police chiefs boast that almost 40 community support officers will herald a "new era" for policing in the county and improve performance.
Eight of the new officers will be based in York where they have limited powers to issue fixed penalty tickets for offences such as riding on the pavement and dog fouling.
While they have not been handed powers of arrest, they can confiscate alcohol, demand names and addresses and perform stop checks on vehicles.
The officers, who will wear distinctive high-visibility uniforms and a hat with a blue band, will start work at the end of this month after four weeks of training.
Updated: 08:54 Monday, June 02, 2003
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