TWENTY-FOUR hours of intense policing this weekend certainly achieved one of its primary aims: to remind islanders, both criminal and law-abiding, of the power of the force.

Within hours of the deployment of almost all Guernsey Police’s officers across the streets, pubs and estates of the island, reporters from this newspaper were being asked what was going on.

The answer was not a major incident but a blitzkrieg approach designed to reassure the innocent and catch the guilty off guard.

However, it was not all raids and arrests. Much of the best work of the officers will have been in quiet conversations with estate residents, pub landlords and motorists.

Besides building up good information on what might be going on behind darkened doorways, the officers were able to get back to good old-fashioned bobbying where the community takes real ownership and pride in its force.

Breaking down the them-and-us attitude that blights many of the more crime-ridden estates and boroughs in the UK is a vital ingredient of policing here in this island.

In a small community there is an opportunity for strong long-term relationships between officers and islanders to be forged.

Those bonds serve both to comfort the vulnerable and shine an unwelcome light on the murky lives of criminals who thrive best in a world of closed mouths, fear and averted eyes.

The stronger and more open that relationship becomes the tougher it is for lawbreakers.

One of the island’s many advantages over larger communities is that there is an inbuilt network of information that passes from mouths to ears and makes it difficult for anyone to keep any activity – illicit or otherwise – going unnoticed for long.

If, through exercises such as Operation Action and more regular dialogue between officers and islanders, the police can tap into that source of reliable knowledge so much the better.

The success of the Crimestoppers initiative, where police appeal through the media for information, shows that there is a strong willingness among islanders to play their part in battling crime.

Building on that relationship is key to keeping the crime rate low.