High visibility police patrols in Kingstons busy town centre have made an immediate impact in reducing crime.

Not a single robbery was reported between December 3 and 9, following the launch of Operation All Sorts.

The 12-strong task force seconded for the two-month Christmas crime-busting initiative made 20 arrests, 17 searches and 81 stops.

It is hoped officers visible yellow uniforms will act as a deterrent to robbers, shoplifters and pickpockets, while reassuring shoppers whose number is estimated to reach 200,000 at peak times.

More than just the visible arm of the law, the officers will endeavour to make the experience of shopping in Kingston as pleasant as possible.

The officers will patrol in pairs, and will be liaising with plain clothes officers from the robbery squad, looking out for known robbers and monitoring their movements.

Their work will be backed up by the boroughs CCTV centre and the shop-link radio system, which connects up to 160 retailers.

Both will enable officers to keep abreast with incidents taking place and anybody acting suspiciously, while speeding up their response time.

Operation All Sorts builds on a similar operation in November last year during which only 14 robberies were committed.

Leading the operation is Sergeant Andy Bignold, who said: Kingston is probably Londons second largest retail outlet after the West End and that is a major attraction for thieves.

It is only right and proper that we respond to that as best as we can to make shoppers time in Kingston as pleasant as possible.

He added that the officers have been trained in crowd management and evacuations in the event of a bomb scare.

Graham McNally, Kingstons town centre manager, said: Statistically its a very successful initiative. It is important members of the public see highly visible police on the beat regularly.

Its absolutely fantastic. For businesses, the patrols mean officers can respond quicker to incidents via the shop-link radio system.

By.Steven Shukor