THE recruitment of extra police officers, which got underway in earnest this week, is to be welcomed. Extra bobbies on the beat do make a difference.

But does this apparent largesse from the government make a real difference to the finances of police forces, which in turn determines their ability to fight crime in the medium and long term. The answer is probably not.

As Baroness Harris points out, the money for the extra policemen and women is welcome but it does not tackle the most difficult problem for police force managers up and down the country and that is the pensions nightmare.

Unlike almost every other public service, police pensions are funded from the revenue budgets of individual forces. So when the pensions bill goes up the amount of money available for everyday police drops accordingly. In forces like North Yorkshire, which has had a high number of early retirements in recent years, the problem is acute.

The Home Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, is well aware of the problem and the effect it has on the operational efficiency of individual forces. And yet, despite the state of public finances and the historic opportunity it presents to set up a separately-funded pension scheme for the police service, no moves have been made to tackle the issue.

Pensions are dull and boring while the prospect of recruiting extra officers today is exciting with PR potential. It's no surprise the government opted for the latter