I was disappointed to read the reaction of two correspondents (Letters, September 3) to the important work being carried out by police officers and representatives of other agencies in the Wish and Westbourne areas of Hove.

The issue of illegal parking featured in the report was only one small part of Operation Crackdown, which concentrates on dealing with abandoned and untaxed vehicles as a priority. This took up only a very small part of the officers' total time on duty.

Abandoned vehicles left to rot in an area contribute to an atmosphere of lawlessness and an increased fear of crime and disorder if not addressed. This is part of the "broken windows" philosophy where minor transgressions require attention before growing into bigger issues. Untaxed vehicles are a big problem (277 found and dealt with in one day here) and it is surely only right that vehicle owners who fail to pay their tax are brought to book.

The police officers referred to in the letters are community beat officers or beat managers, who work on the ground in the communities they serve, dealing with the whole range of community issues. They work primarily on foot, as this is what the public quite rightly wants in order to maintain contact with them.

While working on such an issue as vehicles, they are highly visible, wearing fluorescent jackets, and are able to deal with any incidents they witness in the immediate area.

Last Tuesday, when part of the operation involved representatives from Brighton and Hove City Council, the DVLA and parking wardens, police officers stopped a total of six known criminals. By this high-visibility presence, the officers have possibly prevented crime occurring in the vicinity.

The officers here are working with the agencies mentioned to tackle the problem together. This is just the sort of issue local people have told us they want addressing, as well as graffiti, youth disorder and begging, among others.

One of the correspondents refers to rethinking the approach to problems of community policing. But serving the community and protection of people and their property is exactly what is happening.

-David Bettiss, Brighton and Hove Division, Sussex Police