THERE is no doubt a growing tension between what people living in the Ilkley area believe to be the law and order situation and what senior police officers are telling them.

The residents of Addingham and Ilkley are convinced that the answer to the type of crime we have in the Wharfe Valley is a visible police presence on our streets.

The concept of the jolly village bobby cuffing junior miscreants round the ear and knocking on the doors of old ladies to make sure they are well, may reflect romantic nostalgia as much as historical reality, but increasingly sceptical residents are regarding modern police jargon such as 'intelligence-led, targeting and pro-active' as equally mythical.

It all sounds very clever and effective but the test of such methods does not rely on crime statistics alone. After all, many people regard crime statistics with the same caution as economic or any other kind of statistics. In the right hands, the same set of figures could be used to prove anything.

It could be argued that at least one test of efficiency of the police force is the peace of mind among the population the force exists to protect and serve. Clearly, on the evidence of two recent local meetings, the police are failing on this front.

The residents of Addingham who attended the annual village meeting passionately believed the village was being let down by the police force. Their anger was not directed at local officers, in whom they have every confidence, but at the people at the top running the show.

And at the Ilkley Parish Council meeting this week, members were warned that new policing plans for the area could see a further decrease in the number of officers on the streets.

Despite all the rhetoric, high-tech equipment and marvellous crime statistics, if the people receiving (and, of course, paying for) the service don't feel the police are providing a good enough service in the way they want it providing, something must be wrong somewhere. It would be nothing but arrogance to suggest otherwise.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.