POLICE are trying to fool the public into believing there are more officers on patrol than there really are, according to a public sector union.

Unison, which represents civilian police workers, is at loggerheads with Wiltshire Constabulary over a new policy of painting previous unmarked scenes of crime vehicles in police livery.

The union also claims its members are being exposed to the same potential dangers as police officers, but without having protective equipment such as batons or stab-proof vests.

However, police bosses deny they are trying to con the public, and that the new policy will reassure the public and deter criminals by boosting the visibility of the force.

News of the debate comes shortly after Chief Constable Elizabeth Neville complained that a proposed new Government formula for calculating police budgets could cut the Wiltshire force's resources, especially in rural areas.

Chris Cahill, who chairs Unison's Wiltshire Constabulary branch, said: "We have been in an ongoing dispute with the constabulary about the marking of what were plain vehicles in police livery, and it is the scenes of crime vehicles we are specifically concerned with.

"The constabulary said it wanted to put more vehicles on the road with police livery, but we argue that this is policing on the cheap.

"It argued that it was increasing the visibility of the police in Wiltshire.

"The management says it is for reassurance but reassurance for whom, I'm not sure."

Mr Cahill added that the union also objected to the prospect of staff suffering abuse or violence although he acknowledged that the union had no evidence of this happening in other areas with similar livery policies.

He also claimed that members of the public needing a police officer might try flag down the vehicles in the mistaken belief that the occupants were Pcs.

However Chief Superinten-dent Patrick Stayt denied the claims. He said: "This is not policing on the cheap, and we are not denying that these are scenes of crime vehicles.

"Every marked vehicle we have is reinforcing the message that we are providing reassurance of a police presence, even if they are not police vehicles."

Chf Supt Stayt stressed that no civilian worker would be expected to do the work of a police officer, and that civilian workers' vehicles were equipped with radios which could be used to contact officers. He said only a small number of scenes of crime vehicles are involved.