North Yorkshire traffic policing under review (From Craven Herald)

North Yorkshire traffic policing under review

9:00am Friday 10th August 2012 in News

A review of traffic policing across North Yorkshire is being monitored by Craven councillors.

Police chiefs are currently reviewing the force’s specialist units, including traffic and its firearms team.

Although no decisions have been made, there are strong concerns that traffic officers, currently based in Skipton , will be moved to Harrogate.

Coun John Roberts (Cons), chairman of Craven District Council’s overview and scrutiny committee, said the committee, which also acts as the crime and disorder committee, was aware of the review and would act if the threat to Skipton traffic became a reality.

Assistant Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police, Iain Spittal, said no decisions had been made, but it was important to understand the base and working area of officers might not necessarily be the same.

“A review is currently under way of the force’s specialist operations directorate which includes roads policing, firearms, the dog section and other specialist resources who work across the whole of the county,” he said.

“The focus of the review is on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the various units that make up the specialist operations directorate, being mindful of the organisation’s reducing budget. At this stage, there are a wide range of options being considered and no final decisions have been made.”

He added: “North Yorkshire is the largest county in England with 6,000 miles of roads and North Yorkshire Police, along with its partners, remains committed to both casualty reduction and targeting those criminals who use the road network.

“As an intelligence led organisation, we dynamically deploy operational resources to meet anticipated and known demand.

“It is important to understand that the start location of specialist operational resources does not necessarily indicate where those officers will be working.”