POLICE officers are taking to the streets in a bid to recruit dozens of people needed to fill empty posts in Fareham and Gosport.

A recruitment drive by Hampshire police is encouraging officers to drum up interest while on their beat in an effort to plug gaps in the service.

Force chiefs have revealed that 17 more officers are needed in Gosport and 14 more police constables are wanted in Fareham by March 2003.

The community campaign includes plans for open evenings and work shadowing with current officers - but the proposals have drawn criticism from Fareham MP Mark Hoban.

He said: "It appears to be a good way of recruiting people from their own communities to help police the streets.

"But my concern would be that officers are having to divide their time from their main job of policing the streets to trying to recruit more officers.

"Also, I have been in contact with many officers who say they want to leave the force as a result of David Blunkett's proposals, which would make the burden to recruit more officers to replace them even harder."

Inspector Richard Burrows, who is managing the initiative in Gosport, said the localising of recruitment was a good idea.

He said: "What better way to make a difference in your community than by becoming a local police officer? Many people express an interest in the police force when officers are out on the beat so it is a case of capitalising on that.

"We are planning to really see them through their application process from helping them fill out the form to giving hopefuls some pointers on the tests they have to undergo.

"I appreciate people saying that we should be getting on with our job instead of recruiting people but it is a case of having to. If we don't there will be even fewer of us on the streets."

The initiative comes after the Daily Echo revealed applicants as old as 50 are being encouraged to join the force as part of a high profile recruitment campaign.

Hampshire police recruitment manager Peta Holt said: "So far the recruitment campaign has drawn a lot of interest.

"The reason behind the community drive is to target those people who want to stay close to home and make a difference to their local community.

"Wherever possible we would try to place new recruits near where they live."