SUPERMARKETS are no longer merely shops. They are multi-purpose community centres.

We have seen the supermarket as a church: Asda held a nationwide carol service at its stores in December, backed by the Archbishop of York Dr David Hope.

We have seen the supermarket as a political arena: last year the Government sold its annual report at Tesco, and there are moves to turn stores into polling stations to encourage people to vote.

The supermarket has even become a gym, with shoppers urged to turn their weekly shop into a workout.

And now, the supermarket is to double up as a police station. Asda at Monks Cross in York is to host surgeries by community officer PC David Witts.

This scheme has already been piloted elsewhere in Yorkshire with some success. PC Witts said a number of women had taken the opportunity to report that they were victims of domestic violence. Other shoppers gave the "lobby bobby" information that they thought was trivial but which proved to be important in solving a crime.

We expect that this intelligent initiative will prove equally fruitful in York. Supermarkets are the emblems of our busy age. They offer convenient, round-the-clock service for people with no time to waste. If the police wish to be more accessible, where better for them to go?

It would certainly put an end to the regular complaint that "you never see a police officer these days".

PC Witts will become a familiar face to the many thousands who shop in the store, and that can only strengthen his community role.

The informal environment of Asda also contrasts with the formality of a police station.

A victim of domestic violence is likely to find it easier to make a complaint during her shopping trip than through the glass at Fulford Road station.

We applaud both Asda and York police for setting up this imaginative new version of the "cop shop".