POLICE chiefs will be forced to bow to the public's wish for more bobbies on the beat under new proposals, the government has pledged.

Home Secretary David Blunkett said his plans for members of police authorities to be directly elected would make them more "accountable" to local people.

And that meant chief constables would have to respond quickly to the community's concerns - such as a lack of street patrols or slow response times.

Mr Blunkett said: "I want members of the public to know who their local police commander is and to be able to get answers to basic questions when things are not up to scratch.

"I want to see the police commander of the future with much more power to take the decisions on the ground that make a difference, with the backing of local residents.

"They must feel they can make their voice heard - able to ask sensible questions of their police about local priorities, such as patrols and how quickly they were able to respond to a cry for help."

A consultation document published yesterday, entitled 'Policing: Building Safer Communities Together ', proposes creating "police boards" which would be either wholly or partly elected.

A network of "community advocates" could be appointed to ensure complaints about the standard of service received from the police are properly dealt with.

And neighbourhood panels could be given the power to "buy in" more street patrols, CCTV cameras and other security measures.

The proposals follow Home Office research that showed few people had even heard of local police authorities, let alone knew how they could hold the police to account.

The authorities set the police precept, which forms part of the council tax, and are responsible for drawing up a policing plan, which sets priorities for the chief constable.

Currently, police authorities are made up of local council-lors, magistrates and other community leaders - but none of its members are directly elected.

Carol Gustafson, chairman of Merseyside Police Authority, said the force was already answerable to the public through citizens' panels and other direct consultations.

She said the authority would await the detail of the proposals for direct elections to the board - and their cost implications - before deciding whether to support them.

"I share Mr Blunkett's vision of strong links with local communities and highly visible, responsive policing. That's why we want 600 more officers on the streets of Merseyside."

The consultation document also suggest smallers forces should be merged to give them the muscle to develop powerful new "neighbourhood teams" to tackle anti-social behaviour.