The plea comes from PSNI Sergeant Jonathan Brown, who now heads up community policing on the west of the Bann. As well as the more urban areas of the Heights and Greenmount, his area includes Castlerock, Macosquin and Castleroe.

This week he told the Times: "We have 19 full and part time officers in the area, and specific officers are allocated to specific areas. They want to make links with the community, providing a personal point of contact.

"We want to address the issues that concern people, such as youths causing annoyance, anti social behaviour and criminal activity, and we will work with everyone to help resolve those issues.

"We want to build trust. We need people to give us the information we need to tackle the problem. We will be proactive, but we need people to let us know what is happening.

"We are determined to detect and deter criminality in whatever form and we will take firm action against those who commit offences."

Sgt Brown brings 14 years policing knowledge to the area and a wealth of community experience. He and his team want to really get to know the area and the people.

He said: "All areas have their specific problems and we need to know about them. I would ask people in the area to engage with my team, or with myself directly, and allow us to work with them to help resolve the problems."

If you wish to speak to a member of the community policing team at Coleraine, telephone 0845 600 8000. A police 'clinic' is soon to start operating in the area, to assist people getting in touch with the police.