Speaking at a retail seminar organised by Hull's Business Improvement District yesterday, the officer responded to concerns from business leaders that crime and disorder were still an obstacle to attracting shoppers and residents to the city centre.

She said: "We should be around 24/7, but the latest we can work is until 11 o'clock in the evening. We do what we can but we've got limited powers. We don't have CS gas or handcuffs; we're supposed to stand there and call up for help but we don't, we just get in there."

Her comments drew applause from many in the audience at the Albermarle Music Centre on Ferensway.

Just a year ago Chief Constable Tim Hollis said one of his immediate priorities was to increase the number of police community support officers to 332.

Dave Green, of Alan's Fruiterers, in South Street, said many independent traders felt like "second-class citizens" compared with the support available to larger stores and the £200m St Stephen's complex.

He said: "We don't get the police; we ring them up and they don't turn up. Most independents have problems with youths and we've had people carrying knives. All you've talked about today is Princes Quay and St Stephen's – what about the independents?"

A woman in the audience said she had discounted living in the city centre because of fears for her safety. "I can't imagine living in those apartments in Wright Street as a single girl because it's just not safe."

David Featherby, company secretary of Duncans Gunsmiths, which has been in the city centre for more than 100 years, said feedback from customers was not encouraging.

He said: "We remember what it used to be like and this was a wonderful place. We get a lot of people come from outside the area and what we hear isn't pretty. Over the last three or four days customers have said the first thing they see when they come out of the station is a man forcing himself on you to sign a petition. There are drunks and drug addicts and it creates a terrible impression of what is a beautiful city."

A council spokesman said: "Hull Citysafe is involved in a number of projects to make the city centre a safer place for everyone. These projects aim to reduce alcohol-related violence, crime and anti-social behaviour."

In the past three years projects such as the Street Paramedic initiative, deployment of street marshals at night and targeting of drinkers with an alcohol awareness presence in the run-up to last Christmas had helped cut the number of recorded crimes.