North Yorkshire Police chiefs say the introduction of almost 40 community support officers will herald a "new era" for policing in the county.

All 38 of the new-style officers started four weeks of training today at police headquarters at Newby Wiske, near Northallerton.

They will hit the streets at the end of June, with wide-ranging powers to tackle anti-social behaviour and nuisance crime. Eight officers will be based in York, where they can issue fixed penalty tickets for offences such as dog fouling and riding bicycles on the pavement, as well as having the power to confiscate alcohol and stop vehicles for checks.

Police chiefs hope the uniformed officers, who will not be given powers of arrest, will take pressure off other staff enabling the force to improve its overall service.

Chief Constable Della Cannings said they would provide a vital service in the policing of the county, and their blue-banded hats and high-visibility jackets would soon become a familiar sight.

She said: "They will provide high visibility foot patrols providing reassurance and dealing with the type of nuisance and anti-social behaviour which blights communities and makes people's lives a misery.

"Not only will everyone see the practical benefits from this work, it will also free up valuable time for regular police officers, enabling them to concentrate on other issues and improve the quality of the service we provide."

Seven community support officers will be also based in Scarborough, six in Harrogate, five in Selby and three in Ryedale, with the remainder in Skipton, Hambleton and Richmond.

Ms Cannings said area supervisors will have the flexibility to deploy the officers wherever they will be the most effective at one-off incidents or regular trouble spots.

She said targeted patrols could deal with known issues in a specific area or a spate of persistent troublesome behaviour by gangs of youths.

"The key thing is they will be deployed locally to deal with local issues," she said.

Updated: 12:01 Tuesday, May 27, 2003